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Harry Martinson

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Harry Martinson
Harry Martinson
Harry Martinson
Born(1904-05-06)6 May 1904
Jämshög,Sweden
Died11 February 1978(1978-02-11)(aged 73)
Stockholm,Sweden
Notable awardsNobel Prize in Literature
1974 (shared withEyvind Johnson)
SpousesMoa Martinson(1929–1940)
Ingrid Lindcrantz(1942–1978)

Harry Martinson(6May 1904 – 11February 1978) was a Swedish writer,poetand formersailor.In 1949 he was elected into theSwedish Academy.He was awarded a jointNobel Prize in Literature in 1974together with fellow SwedeEyvind 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]

He has been called "the great reformer of 20th-century Swedish poetry, the most original of the writers called 'proletarian'."[3]

Life[edit]

Martinson was born Harry Edmund Olofsson inJämshög,Blekinge Countyin south-eastern Sweden.[4][5]At a young age he lost both his parents, his father died oftuberculosisin 1910 and a year later his mother emigrated toPortland, Oregonleaving 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[6][7]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 inLundagårdpark,Lund.[8]

In 1929, he debuted as a poet. Together withArtur Lundkvist,Gustav Sandgren,Erik AsklundandJosef Kjellgrenhe authored the anthologyFem unga(Five Youths),[9]which introducedSwedish modernism.His poetry, characterized by linguistic innovation and a frequent use ofmetaphors,combined an acute eye for, and love of nature, with a deeply felthumanism.[10][11]His popular success as a novelist came with the semi-autobiographicalNässlorna 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 novelVägen 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 theSwedish Academy.[3]

One of his most noted works is the poetic cycleAniara,which is a story of the spacecraftAniarathat during ajourney through spaceloses its course and subsequently floats on without destination. The book was published in 1956 and becamean operain 1959 composed byKarl-Birger Blomdahl.[12][13]The cycle has been described as "an epic story of man's fragility and folly".[14]

From 1929 to 1940, he was married to novelistMoa 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[edit]

Harry Martinson debuted in 1929 with the collection of poemsSpökskepp(Ghost Ship), that for the most part employed motifs of the ocean and life as a seaman. The same year he contributed to anthologyFem unga,a ground-breaking and highly influential book inmodernistSwedish literature. Martinson's major breakthrough was his 1931 poetry collectionNomad.His poetry was noted for rich imagery with precise observations that emphazised details. In the booksResor utan mål(Aimless journeys,1932) andKap Farväl!(1933; English translationCape 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 theautobiographical novelsNässlorna blomma(Flowering Nettle,1935) andVägen ut(The Way Out,1936) Martinson tells about his childhood. Martinson had a strong interest insciencewhich was a prominent influence in his work. In his bookVerklighet 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 novelVägen till Klockrike(1948; English translationThe Road,1950) and the collection of poemsPassad(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 inAniara(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 collectionVagnen(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 withDikter om ljus och mörker(Poems of Light and Darkness), which was followed by a collection of nature poemsTuvor(Tufts) in 1973.

Death[edit]

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 theKarolinska University Hospitalin Stockholm by cutting his stomach open with a pair of scissors in what has been described as a "hara-kiri-like manner ".[15][16]

Legacy[edit]

Martinson is widely regarded as the greatest Swedish author sinceAugust Strindberg.[4]The 100th anniversary of Martinson's birth was celebrated around Sweden in 2004.[17]TheCikada Prizeis awarded in memory of Harry Martinson since that year. TheHarry Martinson Societywas founded in 1984 and awards theHarry Martinson Prizeto individuals or organisations working in the spirit of Harry Martinson.[18]TheSwedish Academyawards a scholarship in memory of Harry Martinson to an author writing in Swedish.[19]

Bibliography[edit]

Titles in English where known.

Works in English[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"The Nobel Prize in Literature 1974".Nobel Foundation.
  2. ^Örjan Lindberger "Människan i tiden. Eyvind Johnsons liv och författarskap 1938–1976" Bonniers 1990, pp. 445–447
  3. ^abcdef"Harry Martinson"(in French).Retrieved27 March2012.
  4. ^abcdefgHolm, Ingvar."Harry Martinson".Svenskt biografiskt lexikon.National Archives of Sweden.
  5. ^Leandoer, Kristoffer (4 May 2023).""Recension:" Min egen elds kurir. Harry Martinsons författarliv "av Johan Svedjedal".Svenska Dagbladet.
  6. ^Sjöberg, Leif (1974). "Harry Martinson: From Vagabond to Space Explorer".Books Abroad.48(3 (Summer, 1974)). Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma: 476–485.doi:10.2307/40128696.JSTOR40128696.
  7. ^Brandsma, Elliott (27 June 2021)."Embracing Life's Aimless Journeys: A Reflection on Harry Martinson's" Nocturne of the Sea "".Harry Martinson-sällskapet.Retrieved15 September2021.
  8. ^Westerström, Jenny (6 January 2010)."Den hemlöse i svensk skönlitteratur efter 1900".Lund University.Retrieved21 December2015.
  9. ^Kumm, Björn (12 December 1991). "Obituary: Artur Lundkvist".The Independent.London. p. 13.
  10. ^"Harry Martinson – Biographical".Nobel Media AB. 2014.Retrieved4 March2015.
  11. ^"Harry Martinson".Albert Bonniers Förlag.
  12. ^Johansson, Stefan (31 May 2009)."50-åring ur kurs når ännu fram"[50 year old man of course still gets through].Svenska Dagbladet.Retrieved14 February2014.
  13. ^Liukkonen, Petri."Harry Martinson".Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi).Finland:KuusankoskiPublic Library. Archived fromthe originalon 9 April 2003.
  14. ^Critical survey of poetry. American poets.Reisman, Rosemary M. Canfield. (4th. ed.). Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press. 2011.ISBN9781587655937.OCLC712652825.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^Hansson, Anita (31 August 2000)."Martinson begick harakiri"[Martinson committed hara-kiri].wwwc.aftonbladet.se.Aftonbladet.Retrieved21 December2015.
  16. ^Gyllensten, Lars (2000).Minnen, bara minnen[Memories, just memories] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag.ISBN91-0-057140-7.SELIBR7150260.
  17. ^"Harry Martinson-sällskapets material"[Material from the Harry Martinson Society]. Uppsala University Library.
  18. ^PriserHarry Martinson-sällskapet
  19. ^Stipendium till Harry Martinsons minneSvenska Akademien

External links[edit]

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