Harry Martinson (6May 1904 – 11February 1978) was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson "for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos".[1] The choice was controversial, as both Martinson and Johnson were members of the academy.[2]
Martinson was born in Jämshög, Blekinge County in south-eastern Sweden.[4] At a young age he lost both his parents, his father died of tuberculosis in 1910 and a year later his mother emigrated to Portland, Oregon leaving behind her children, whereafter Martinson was placed as a foster child (Kommunalbarn) in the Swedish countryside.[4] At the age of sixteen Martinson ran away and signed onto a ship to spend the next years sailing around the world visiting countries including Brazil and India.[4]
The headstone on Martinson's grave in Silverdal, Sollentuna – north of Stockholm
A few years later lung problems forced him to set ashore in Sweden[5][6] where he travelled around without a steady employment, at times living as a vagabond on country roads.[4] At the age of 21, he was arrested for vagrancy in Lundagård park, Lund.[7]
In 1929, he debuted as a poet. Together with Artur Lundkvist, Gustav Sandgren, Erik Asklund and Josef Kjellgren he authored the anthology Fem unga (Five Youths),[8] which introduced Swedish modernism. His poetry, characterized by linguistic innovation and a frequent use of metaphors, combined an acute eye for, and love of nature, with a deeply felt humanism.[9][10] His popular success as a novelist came with the semi-autobiographical Nässlorna blomma (Flowering Nettle) in 1935, about hardships encountered by a young boy in the countryside. It has since been translated into more than thirty languages. The novel Vägen till Klockrike (The Road to Klockrike, 1948) was another huge success, and in 1949 Martinson became the first proletarian writer to be elected a member of the Swedish Academy.[3]
One of his most noted works is the poetic cycle Aniara, which is a story of the spacecraft Aniara that during a journey through space loses its course and subsequently floats on without destination. The book was published in 1956 and became an opera in 1959 composed by Karl-Birger Blomdahl.[11][12] The cycle has been described as "an epic story of man's fragility and folly".[13]
From 1929 to 1940, he was married to novelist Moa Martinson, prominent as a feminist and proletarian author, whom he met through a Stockholm anarchist newspaper, Brand.[3] He travelled to the Soviet Union in 1934.[3][4] He and Moa were divorced due to her criticism of his lack of political commitment.[3] Harry married Ingrid Lindcrantz (1916–1994) in 1942.[3][4]
Writing
Harry Martinson debuted in 1929 with the collection of poems Spökskepp (Ghost Ship), that for the most part employed motifs of the ocean and life as a seaman. The same year he contributed to anthology Fem unga, a ground-breaking and highly influential book in modernist Swedish literature. Martinson's major breakthrough was his 1931 poetry collection Nomad. His poetry was noted for rich imagery with precise observations that emphazised details. In the books Resor utan mål (Aimless journeys, 1932) and Kap Farväl! (1933; English translation Cape Farewell, 1934) Martinson recalled memories of his life as a seaman. In his later writing nature and the earth became increasingly important motifs. During the 1930s he developed a mastery in describing nature in both prose and poetry and was especially noted for his short nature poems with precise observations. In the autobiographical novelsNässlorna blomma (Flowering Nettle, 1935) and Vägen ut (The Way Out, 1936) Martinson tells about his childhood. Martinson had a strong interest in science which was a prominent influence in his work. In his book Verklighet till döds (Reality to Death, 1940) written during World War II Martinson criticized contemporary social conditions and technological development. Criticism of modern culture is also a theme in Martinson's philosophical vagabond novel Vägen till Klockrike (1948; English translation The Road, 1950) and the collection of poems Passad (1945).
In his later writing Martinson developed a new major theme based on his increasing interest in outer space and the cosmic. This came to most distinct expression in Aniara (1956), a poetic space epic that became Martinson's best known work. In his late work criticism of modern life and its technology came to an even stronger expression in his 1960 poetry collection Vagnen (The Wagon), which unlike his previous books was not well received by contemporary critics. Sensitive to criticism it appeared to be Martinson's last published collection of poems, but in 1971 he returned with Dikter om ljus och mörker (Poems of Light and Darkness), which was followed by a collection of nature poems Tuvor (Tufts) in 1973.
Death
The sensitive Martinson found it hard to cope with the criticism following his 1974 Nobel Prize award in Literature, and committed suicide on 11February 1978 at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm by cutting his stomach open with a pair of scissors in what has been described as a "hara-kiri-like manner".[14][15]
Legacy
Martinson is widely regarded as the greatest Swedish author since August Strindberg.[4] The 100th anniversary of Martinson's birth was celebrated around Sweden in 2004.[16] The Cikada Prize is awarded in memory of Harry Martinson since that year. The Harry Martinson Society was founded in 1984 and awards the Harry Martinson Prize to individuals or organisations working in the spirit of Harry Martinson.[17] The Swedish Academy awards a scholarship in memory of Harry Martinson to an author writing in Swedish.[18]
^Sjöberg, Leif (1974). "Harry Martinson: From Vagabond to Space Explorer". Books Abroad. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. 48 (3 (Summer, 1974)): 476–485. doi:10.2307/40128696. JSTOR 40128696.
^Brandsma, Elliott (27 June 2021). "Embracing Life's Aimless Journeys: A Reflection on Harry Martinson's "Nocturne of the Sea"". Harry Martinson-sällskapet. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
^Westerström, Jenny (6 January 2010). "Den hemlöse i svensk skönlitteratur efter 1900". Lund University. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
^Kumm, Björn (12 December 1991). "Obituary: Artur Lundkvist". The Independent. London. p. 13.
^"Harry Martinson – Biographical". Nobel Media AB. 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
^Johansson, Stefan (31 May 2009). "50-åring ur kurs når ännu fram" [50 year old man of course still gets through]. Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
^Liukkonen, Petri. . Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi). Finland: Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from the original on 9 April 2003.
^Critical survey of poetry. American poets. Reisman, Rosemary M. Canfield. (4th. ed.). Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press. 2011. ISBN9781587655937. OCLC 712652825.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^Hansson, Anita (31 August 2000). "Martinson begick harakiri" [Martinson committed hara-kiri]. wwwc.aftonbladet.se. Aftonbladet. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
^Gyllensten, Lars (2000). Minnen, bara minnen [Memories, just memories] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag. ISBN91-0-057140-7. SELIBR 7150260.
^"Harry Martinson-sällskapets material" [Material from the Harry Martinson Society]. Uppsala University Library.
harry, martinson, 1904, february, 1978, swedish, writer, poet, former, sailor, 1949, elected, into, swedish, academy, awarded, joint, nobel, prize, literature, 1974, together, with, fellow, swede, eyvind, johnson, writings, that, catch, dewdrop, reflect, cosmo. Harry Martinson 6 May 1904 11 February 1978 was a Swedish writer poet and former sailor In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos 1 The choice was controversial as both Martinson and Johnson were members of the academy 2 Harry MartinsonHarry MartinsonBorn 1904 05 06 6 May 1904Jamshog SwedenDied11 February 1978 1978 02 11 aged 73 Stockholm SwedenNotable awardsNobel Prize in Literature 1974 shared with Eyvind Johnson SpousesMoa Martinson 1929 1940 Ingrid Lindcrantz 1942 1978 He has been called the great reformer of 20th century Swedish poetry the most original of the writers called proletarian 3 Contents 1 Life 2 Writing 3 Death 4 Legacy 5 Bibliography 5 1 Novels 5 2 Essays 5 3 Poems 5 4 Radio plays 5 5 Stage play 5 6 Psalms 5 7 Works in English 6 References 7 External linksLife EditMartinson was born in Jamshog Blekinge County in south eastern Sweden 4 At a young age he lost both his parents his father died of tuberculosis in 1910 and a year later his mother emigrated to Portland Oregon leaving behind her children whereafter Martinson was placed as a foster child Kommunalbarn in the Swedish countryside 4 At the age of sixteen Martinson ran away and signed onto a ship to spend the next years sailing around the world visiting countries including Brazil and India 4 The headstone on Martinson s grave in Silverdal Sollentuna north of Stockholm A few years later lung problems forced him to set ashore in Sweden 5 6 where he travelled around without a steady employment at times living as a vagabond on country roads 4 At the age of 21 he was arrested for vagrancy in Lundagard park Lund 7 In 1929 he debuted as a poet Together with Artur Lundkvist Gustav Sandgren Erik Asklund and Josef Kjellgren he authored the anthology Fem unga Five Youths 8 which introduced Swedish modernism His poetry characterized by linguistic innovation and a frequent use of metaphors combined an acute eye for and love of nature with a deeply felt humanism 9 10 His popular success as a novelist came with the semi autobiographical Nasslorna blomma Flowering Nettle in 1935 about hardships encountered by a young boy in the countryside It has since been translated into more than thirty languages The novel Vagen till Klockrike The Road to Klockrike 1948 was another huge success and in 1949 Martinson became the first proletarian writer to be elected a member of the Swedish Academy 3 One of his most noted works is the poetic cycle Aniara which is a story of the spacecraft Aniara that during a journey through space loses its course and subsequently floats on without destination The book was published in 1956 and became an opera in 1959 composed by Karl Birger Blomdahl 11 12 The cycle has been described as an epic story of man s fragility and folly 13 From 1929 to 1940 he was married to novelist Moa Martinson prominent as a feminist and proletarian author whom he met through a Stockholm anarchist newspaper Brand 3 He travelled to the Soviet Union in 1934 3 4 He and Moa were divorced due to her criticism of his lack of political commitment 3 Harry married Ingrid Lindcrantz 1916 1994 in 1942 3 4 Writing EditHarry Martinson debuted in 1929 with the collection of poems Spokskepp Ghost Ship that for the most part employed motifs of the ocean and life as a seaman The same year he contributed to anthology Fem unga a ground breaking and highly influential book in modernist Swedish literature Martinson s major breakthrough was his 1931 poetry collection Nomad His poetry was noted for rich imagery with precise observations that emphazised details In the books Resor utan mal Aimless journeys 1932 and Kap Farval 1933 English translation Cape Farewell 1934 Martinson recalled memories of his life as a seaman In his later writing nature and the earth became increasingly important motifs During the 1930s he developed a mastery in describing nature in both prose and poetry and was especially noted for his short nature poems with precise observations In the autobiographical novels Nasslorna blomma Flowering Nettle 1935 and Vagen ut The Way Out 1936 Martinson tells about his childhood Martinson had a strong interest in science which was a prominent influence in his work In his book Verklighet till dods Reality to Death 1940 written during World War II Martinson criticized contemporary social conditions and technological development Criticism of modern culture is also a theme in Martinson s philosophical vagabond novel Vagen till Klockrike 1948 English translation The Road 1950 and the collection of poems Passad 1945 In his later writing Martinson developed a new major theme based on his increasing interest in outer space and the cosmic This came to most distinct expression in Aniara 1956 a poetic space epic that became Martinson s best known work In his late work criticism of modern life and its technology came to an even stronger expression in his 1960 poetry collection Vagnen The Wagon which unlike his previous books was not well received by contemporary critics Sensitive to criticism it appeared to be Martinson s last published collection of poems but in 1971 he returned with Dikter om ljus och morker Poems of Light and Darkness which was followed by a collection of nature poems Tuvor Tufts in 1973 Death EditThe sensitive Martinson found it hard to cope with the criticism following his 1974 Nobel Prize award in Literature and committed suicide on 11 February 1978 at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm by cutting his stomach open with a pair of scissors in what has been described as a hara kiri like manner 14 15 Legacy EditMartinson is widely regarded as the greatest Swedish author since August Strindberg 4 The 100th anniversary of Martinson s birth was celebrated around Sweden in 2004 16 The Cikada Prize is awarded in memory of Harry Martinson since that year The Harry Martinson Society was founded in 1984 and awards the Harry Martinson Prize to individuals or organisations working in the spirit of Harry Martinson 17 The Swedish Academy awards a scholarship in memory of Harry Martinson to an author writing in Swedish 18 Bibliography EditTitles in English where known Novels Edit Kap Farval Cape Farewell 1933 Nasslorna blomma Flowering Nettle 1935 Vagen ut The Way Out 1936 Den forlorade jaguaren The Lost Jaguar 1941 Vagen till Klockrike The Road 1948 Essays Edit Resor utan mal Aimless Journeys 1932 Svarmare och harkrank 1937 Midsommardalen Midsommer valley 1938 Det enkla och det svara The easy and the hard 1938 Verklighet till dods Reality to death 1940 Utsikt fran en grastuva Views From A Tuft of Grass 1963 Poems Edit Spokskepp 1929 Nomad 1931 Illustrated edition 1943 with new poems and drawings by Torsten Billman Passad Trade Wind 1945 Cikada 1953 Aniara 1956 Grasen i Thule 1958 Vagnen 1960 Dikter om ljus och morker 1971 Tuvor 1973 Radio plays Edit Gringo Salvation 1947 Lotsen fran Moluckas 1948 Stage play Edit Tre knivar fran Wei 1964 Psalms Edit De blomster som i marken bor Works in English Edit Cape Farewell Kap Farval 1934 translated by Naomi Walford Flowering Nettle Nasslorna blomma 1936 translated by Naomi Walford The Road Vagen till Klockrike 1955 translated by M A Michael Friends you drank some darkness Three Swedish Poets Harry Martinson Gunnar Ekelof and Tomas Transtromer 1975 translated by Robert Bly Aniara 1976 translated by Hugh MacDiarmid and Elsepeth Harley Schubert Wild Bouquet Nature Poems 1985 translated by William Jay Smith and Leif Sjoberg Aniara 1991 translated by Stephen Klass and Leif Sjoberg Views From a Tuft of Grass Utsikt fran en grastuva 2005 translated by Lars Nordstrom and Erland AndersonReferences Edit The Nobel Prize in Literature 1974 Nobel Foundation Orjan Lindberger Manniskan i tiden Eyvind Johnsons liv och forfattarskap 1938 1976 Bonniers 1990 pp 445 447 a b c d e f Harry Martinson in French Retrieved 27 March 2012 a b c d e f g Holm Ingvar Harry Martinson Svenskt biografiskt lexikon National Archives of Sweden Sjoberg Leif 1974 Harry Martinson From Vagabond to Space Explorer Books Abroad Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma 48 3 Summer 1974 476 485 doi 10 2307 40128696 JSTOR 40128696 Brandsma Elliott 27 June 2021 Embracing Life s Aimless Journeys A Reflection on Harry Martinson s Nocturne of the Sea Harry Martinson sallskapet Retrieved 15 September 2021 Westerstrom Jenny 6 January 2010 Den hemlose i svensk skonlitteratur efter 1900 Lund University Retrieved 21 December 2015 Kumm Bjorn 12 December 1991 Obituary Artur Lundkvist The Independent London p 13 Harry Martinson Biographical Nobel Media AB 2014 Retrieved 4 March 2015 Harry Martinson Albert Bonniers Forlag Johansson Stefan 31 May 2009 50 aring ur kurs nar annu fram 50 year old man of course still gets through Svenska Dagbladet Retrieved 14 February 2014 Liukkonen Petri Harry Martinson Books and Writers kirjasto sci fi Finland Kuusankoski Public Library Archived from the original on 9 April 2003 Critical survey of poetry American poets Reisman Rosemary M Canfield 4th ed Pasadena Calif Salem Press 2011 ISBN 9781587655937 OCLC 712652825 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint others link Hansson Anita 31 August 2000 Martinson begick harakiri Martinson committed hara kiri wwwc aftonbladet se Aftonbladet Retrieved 21 December 2015 Gyllensten Lars 2000 Minnen bara minnen Memories just memories in Swedish Stockholm Albert Bonniers Forlag ISBN 91 0 057140 7 SELIBR 7150260 Harry Martinson sallskapets material Material from the Harry Martinson Society Uppsala University Library Priser Harry Martinson sallskapet Stipendium till Harry Martinsons minne Svenska AkademienExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harry Martinson Petri Liukkonen Harry Martinson Books and Writers A translator s look at Flowering Nettles Archived 2018 05 07 at the Wayback Machine Swedish book review Harry Martinson on Nobelprize org Cultural officesPreceded byElin Wagner Swedish AcademySeat No 151949 78 Succeeded byKerstin Ekman Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harry Martinson amp oldid 1152962718, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
