Kjell Erik Espmark (19 February 1930 – 18 September 2022) was a Swedish writer, literary historian, member of the Swedish Academy, and Professor of the History of Literature at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. He was elected to the Swedish Academy on 5 March 1981 and admitted on 20 December 1981. Kjell Espmark succeeded the linguist Elias Wessén to Seat No.16. He was chair of the Swedish Academy's Nobel committee between 1987 and 2004. On 6 April 2018 Espmark announced that he would no longer participate in the work of the Academy, but returned to his seat in January 2019.

Works

As a literature historian Espmark specialised in poetic modernism, including studies about the work of Swedish poets Artur Lundkvist, Harry Martinson,

Tomas Tranströmer Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator. His poems captured the long winters in Sweden, the rhythm of the seasons and the palpable, atmospheric beauty of nature. Tranströmer' ...

, and ''Att översätta själen: en huvudlinje i modern poesi – från Baudelaire till surrealismen'' ("To translate the soul: a main line in modern poetry from Baudelaire to

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

", 1975). Also a prolific fiction writer, Espmark published a number of poetry collections since his debut in 1956, and later extended his writing to several prose works and plays. His work also include essay collections and studies about the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

. In 2010, his autobiography ''Minnena ljuger'' ("Memories Lie") was published.

Bibliography

* Mordet på Benjamin (1956) * Världen genom kameraögat (1958) * Mikrokosmos (1961) * Livsdyrkaren Artur Lundkvist : studier i hans lyrik till och med Vit man (1964) * Det offentliga samtalet (1968) * Harry Martinson erövrar sitt språk : en studie i hans lyriska metod 1927-1934 (1970) * Samtal under jorden (1972) * Det obevekliga paradiset (1975) * Att översätta själen : en huvudlinje i modern poesi – från Baudelaire till surrealismen (1975) * Sent i Sverige (1976) * Själen i : en huvudlinje i modern svensk poesi (1977) * Försök till liv (1979) * Elias Wessén : inträdestal i Svenska akademien (1981) * Tecken till Europa (1982) * Resans formler: en studie i Tomas Tranströmers poesi (1983) * Den hemliga måltiden (1984) * (1985) * Glömskan (1987) * Missförståndet (1989) * Föraktet (1991) * När vägen vänder (1992) * Lojaliteten (1993) * Hatet (1995) * Revanschen (1996) * Glädjen (1997) * Det andra livet (1998) * Glömskans tid (1999) * De levande har inga gravar (2002) * Utanför kalendern (2003) * Béla Bartók mot Tredje riket (2004) * Harry Martinson – mästaren (2005) * Motvilliga historier (2006) * Vintergata (2007) * Albatrossen på däcket (2008) * Det enda nödvändiga : dikter 1956-2009 (2010) * Marx i London och andra pjäser (2011) * Lend Me Your Voice (2011), poetry, English translation by Robin Fulton * I vargtimmen (2012) * Outside the Calendar (2012), poetry, English translation by Robin Fulton * Hoffmanns försvar (2013) * Den inre rymden (2014) * Resan till Thule (2017) * Kvällens frihet (2019) * Återliv (2021)

References

Notes

Sources

* 1930 births 2022 deaths Swedish literary scholars Members of the Swedish Academy Academic staff of Stockholm University People from Strömsund Municipality {{Sweden-academic-bio-stub