Stig Dagerman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stig Dagerman (October 5, 1923, Älvkarleby - November 4, 1954 Enebyberg, near Stockholm) was a Swedish author and journalist.

Stig Dagerman was one of the most prominent Swedish authors during the 1940s. He grew up with his grandparents in Älvkarleby because his father could not afford to, and did not have the possibility to, raise him. The mother had given birth to Stig on the farm but left the farm, and Stig, after some months to never come back.

Dagerman did, contrary to popular myth, describe his childhood as the happiest period of his life. Already as a teenager he became attracted to syndicalism and joined the Syndicalist Youth Federation. He came to preserve his ideals all his life.

He showed his talent as a writer and editor in the youth federation and became editor for their newspaper, Storm. He would later begin to write chronicals in Arbetaren, another newspaper in the syndicalist movement.

Only 22 years old he made his debut with Ormen (The Snake, trans. Laurie Thompson), a novel. The novel was a loosely connected tale with horror as the main theme. The critics were excited and he earned a reputation as a brilliant author. Many regard Dagerman as a proponent of post-war generation of writers, shocked by the terrific events and depicting themes of deep anguish, alienation and fear ^[1] The critics compared Dagerman's first works to those of Kafka, and parallels to existentialism were found. Dagerman's another masterpiece, Nattens lekar, however, represents a turn towards more realistic plot. ^[2]

He left his job as at Arbetaren and became full-time author. In the next four years he would produce a massive amount of literature. His second novel, De dömdas ö (Island of the Doomed, trans. Laurie Thompson) was released in 1946. In 1946-47 he chronicled the situation of post-war Germany and the hardship of ordinary Germans during that murky era. These chronicles were later published as Tysk Höst (German Autumn).

One of his most famous short stories is Att döda ett barn (To kill a child). He was an avid soccer fan and perhaps his most seminal work was the aptly named 1 000 Years in God's House.

Dagerman committed suicide in 1954 after years of depression and mental problems, possibly including schizophrenia.

Stig Dagerman prize (50,000 Swedish kronor) has been given for remarkable literary works since 1996. [1].