- Karl Vennberg
Karl Vennberg (
11 April 1910 -12 May 1995 ) was a Swedishpoet ,writer and translator. Born inBlädinge ,Alvesta Municipality , the son of a farmer, Vennberg studied atLund University and in Stockholm and worked as a teacher of Norwegian in a Stockholmfolk high school . His first poem "Hymn och hunger" ("Hymn and Hunger") was published in 1937. During his career, he published 20 collections of poetry. Hisliterary criticism had an important influence on the Swedish literary scene. He also translated literary works into Swedish, among othersFranz Kafka 'sThe Trial .Generally considered a leading Swedish Modernist poet, several dissertations has been written about Vennberg's works. His poems are analytical but also often make use of
irony . Vennberg is often said to be influenced byT. S. Eliot .Political views
During the 1930s and 1940s, Vennberg expressed some level of support for
fascism andnazism . For example, in a letter in 1936, he wrote: "I know that Hitler and Mussolini have given the youth of their countries something to live for, an inexorable and inevitable demand, beyong all reflection and analysis. The equilibrium of life cannot be restored in any other way.Liberty is a divine privilege, which among humans only leads to dreary decay".cite book |title=Den unge Karl Vennberg |last=Lagerlöf |first=Karl Erik |authorlink=Karl Erik Lagerlöf |year=1967 |publisher=Bonnier |location=Stockholm |language=Swedish] Following the outbreak ofWorld War II inEurope in 1939, Vennberg argued that "whether Hitler's expansion of his realm was justified or unjustified, we may in confidence leave for history to decide". [cite book |title=Vänstern och tyranniet : det galna kvartsseklet |last=Ahlmark |first=Per |authorlink=Per Ahlmark |coauthors= |year=1994 |publisher=Timbro |location=Stockholm |isbn=91-7566-274-4 |pages=174 |language=Swedish] He also argued that other countries had raised "compact walls of derision and enmity towards German will of life".During the early
Cold War , Vennberg was an adherent of the so called "third stance" ( _sv. tredje ståndpunkten) in Swedish public debate, which advocated a neutral stance in the conflict between the two superpowers. Despite this, he participated in a gathering at the USSR embassy in Stockholm where he praised the "cultural upbuilding" in the USSR.cite book |title=Medlöparna |last=Häggman |first=Bertil |authorlink=Bertil Häggman |year=1991 |publisher=Contra |location=Stockholm |isbn=91-86092-22-7 |pages=87 |language=Swedish] In 1948 he participated in the founding of theIntellectuals' International Relations Committee for Peace , a USSR-controlledfront organization which summoned theWorld Peace Congress in 1949.Awards and honors
Karl Vennberg won a number of literary prizes during his career:
*Samfundet De Nios pris, 1956
*TheBellman Prize , 1960
*Litteraturfrämjandets stora pris, 1963
*The Nordic Council's Literature Prize , 1972
*The Carl Emil Englund Prize, 1979
*The Kellgren Prize, 1979
*The Aniara Prize, 1988
*The Pilot Prize, 1993
*The Gerard Bonnier Prize, 1994He was also awarded a honorary doctorate at
Stockholm University .References
Further reading
*Anders Johansson (2000) "The negativity of poetry. A study of Karl Vennberg's literary criticism and poetry." Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. ISBN 91-22-01865-4 ( [http://www.su.se/forskning/disputationer/spikblad/AndersJohansson.html Abstract] )
External links
* [http://www.albertbonniersforlag.se/200/201.asp?AuthorId=13477 Karl Vennberg] - Albert Bonnier publishing house presentation page (in Swedish)
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