Harry Martinson (6May 190411February 1978) was a Swedish writer,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and former

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

. 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 Eyvind Johnson (29 July 1900 – 25 August 1976) was a Swedish novelist and short story writer. Regarded as the most groundbreaking novelist in modern Swedish literature he became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the 1974 Nob ...

"for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos". The choice was controversial, as both Martinson and Johnson were members of the academy.Örjan Lindberger "Människan i tiden. Eyvind Johnsons liv och författarskap 1938–1976" Bonniers 1990, pp. 445–447 He has been called "the great reformer of 20th-century Swedish poetry, the most original of the writers called 'proletarian'."

Life

Martinson was born in Jämshög,

Blekinge County Blekinge County ( sv, Blekinge län) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne County, Skåne, Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Kalmar County, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karl ...

in south-eastern Sweden. At a young age he lost both his parents, his father died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

in 1910 and a year later his mother emigrated to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

leaving behind her children, whereafter Martinson was placed as a foster child (''Kommunalbarn'') in the Swedish countryside. 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. HarryMartinsonTombstone

A few years later lung problems forced him to set ashore in Sweden where he travelled around without a steady employment, at times living as a vagabond on country roads. At the age of 21, he was arrested for vagrancy in Lundagård park, Lund. In 1929, he debuted as a poet. Together with Artur Lundkvist,

Gustav Sandgren Gustav Sandgren (20 August 1904 – 11 August 1983) was a Swedish writer. Early life and writing Sandgren's parents were O.J. Sandgren and Karolina Adolfsson, who gave their son a poor but happy childhood. The father was, in addition to his wo ...

, Erik Asklund and

Josef Kjellgren Josef Kjellgren, (13 November 1907 – 8 April 1948) was a Swedish writer and playwright.Fem unga'' (Five Youths), which introduced Swedish modernism. His poetry, characterized by linguistic innovation and a frequent use of

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

s, combined an acute eye for, and love of nature, with a deeply felt

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

. 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. One of his most noted works is the poetic cycle ''

Aniara ''Aniara'' ( sv, Aniara : en revy om människan i tid och rum) is a book-length epic science fiction poem written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson from 1953 to 1956. It narrates the tragedy of a large passenger spacecraft carrying a ...

'', 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. The cycle has been described as "an epic story of man's fragility and folly". 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''. He travelled to the Soviet Union in 1934. He and Moa were divorced due to her criticism of his lack of political commitment. Harry married Ingrid Lindcrantz (1916–1994) in 1942.

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 Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

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 novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...

s ''Nässlorna blomma'' ('' Flowering Nettle'', 1935) and ''Vägen ut'' (''The Way Out'', 1936) Martinson tells about his childhood. Martinson had a strong interest in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

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 ''

'' (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 The Karolinska University Hospital ( sv, Karolinska universitetssjukhuset) is a teaching hospital affiliated with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, with two major sites in the municipalities of Solna and Huddinge. The hospital network ...

in Stockholm by cutting his stomach open with a pair of scissors in what has been described as a "

hara-kiri , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

-like manner".

Legacy

Martinson is widely regarded as the greatest Swedish author since

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

. The 100th anniversary of Martinson's birth was celebrated around Sweden in 2004. 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. The Swedish Academy awards a scholarship in memory of Harry Martinson to an author writing in Swedish.Stipendium till Harry Martinsons minne
Svenska Akademien

Bibliography

Titles in English where known.

Novels

*''Kap Farväl'' (Cape Farewell) 1933 *''Nässlorna blomma'' ( Flowering Nettle) 1935 *''Vägen ut'' (The Way Out) 1936 *''Den förlorade jaguaren'' (The Lost Jaguar) 1941 *'' Vägen till Klockrike'' (The Road) 1948

Essays

*''Resor utan mål'' (Aimless Journeys) 1932 *''Svärmare och harkrank'' 1937 *''Midsommardalen'' (Midsommer valley) 1938 *''Det enkla och det svåra'' (The easy and the hard) 1938 *''Verklighet till döds'' (Reality to death) 1940 *''Utsikt från en grästuva'' (Views From A Tuft of Grass) 1963

Poems

*''Spökskepp'' 1929 *''Nomad'' 1931. Illustrated edition 1943 with new poems and drawings by

Torsten Billman Torsten Edvard Billman (6 May 1909 – 6 April 1989) was a Swedish artist who worked as a printmaker, illustrator, and buon fresco painter. He counts as one of the 20th century's premier wood-engravers.Aniara ''Aniara'' ( sv, Aniara : en revy om människan i tid och rum) is a book-length epic science fiction poem written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson from 1953 to 1956. It narrates the tragedy of a large passenger spacecraft carrying a ...

'' 1956 *''Gräsen i Thule'' 1958 *''Vagnen'' 1960 *''Dikter om ljus och mörker'' 1971 *''Tuvor'' 1973

Radio plays

*''Gringo'' *''Salvation'' 1947 *''Lotsen från Moluckas'' 1948

Stage play

*''Tre knivar från Wei'' 1964

Psalms

*''De blomster som i marken bor''

Works in English

* '' Cape Farewell'' (''Kap Farväl!''), 1934 - translated by Naomi Walford * '' Flowering Nettle'' (''Nässlorna blomma''), 1936 - translated by Naomi Walford * ''

The Road ''The Road'' is a 2006 post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. The book details the grueling journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that ha ...

'' (''Vägen till Klockrike''), 1955 - translated by M.A. Michael * ''Friends, you drank some darkness Three Swedish Poets: Harry Martinson, Gunnar Ekelöf and Tomas Tranströmer'', 1975 - translated by

Robert Bly Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ' ...

* ''

'', 1976 - translated by Hugh McDiarmid and Elsepeth Harley Schubert * ''Wild Bouquet Nature Poems'', 1985 - translated by William Jay Smith and Leif Sjöberg * ''Aniara'', 1991 - translated by Stephen Klass and Leif Sjöberg * ''Views From a Tuft of Grass'' (''Utsikt från en grästuva''), 2005 - translated by Lars Nordström and Erland Anderson

References

External links

*
A translator's look at ''Flowering Nettles''
Swedish book review * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinson, Harry 1904 births 1978 deaths 1978 suicides People from Olofström Municipality Writers from Blekinge Swedish science fiction writers Members of the Swedish Academy Nobel laureates in Literature Suicides by sharp instrument in Sweden Swedish-language writers Swedish Nobel laureates Dobloug Prize winners Swedish poets 20th-century Swedish novelists 20th-century Swedish poets Swedish male poets Swedish male novelists