Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature

Scandinavian Studies 374/Literature in Translation 274
Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature:
The Twentieth Century.

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Pär Lagerkvist (1891-1974)

Lagerkvist was raised in the small town of Växjö by deeply religious parents. Lagerkvist later called himself a "religious atheist." The question of mankind's relationship to a divine being permeates his entire authorship.

In 1913, Lagerkvist travelled to Paris where he studied the new movements in modern art. His essay "Word Art and Pictoral Art" (1913) was something of a Swedish modernist manifesto.

In his younger years, Lagerkvist wrote poetry, plays, and short prose. After World War II Lagervist began writing novels, for which he received international acclaim. He was elected to the Swedish Academy in 1940, and awarded the Nobel Prize in 1951.

Scandinavian Studies 374/Literature in Translation 274 Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature: The Twentieth Century.

Scandinavian Studies 374/Literature in Translation 274
Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature:
The Twentieth Century.