Karl Vennberg

Karl Vennberg
Karl Vennberg
Born	Karl Gunnar Vennberg (1910-04-11)11 April 1910 Blädinge, Sweden
Died	12 May 1995(1995-05-12) (aged 85) Spånga, Sweden
Nationality	Swedish
Period	1937–1990
Spouses	Anna-Lisa Lindegren (1938) Ingegärd Martinell (1965)
Children	Inger Hanna

Karl Vennberg (11 April 1910 – 12 May 1995) was a Swedish poet, writer and translator. Born in Blädinge, Alvesta Municipality, Kronoberg County as the son of a farmer, Vennberg studied at Lund University and in Stockholm and worked as a teacher of Norwegian in a Stockholm folk high school. His first poem "Hymn och hunger" ("Hymn and Hunger") was published in 1937. During his career, he published 20 collections of poetry. His literary criticism had an important influence on the Swedish literary scene. He also translated literary works into Swedish, among others Franz Kafka's The 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 by T. S. Eliot.

Political views

During the 1930s and 1940s, Vennberg expressed some level of support for fascism and nazism. 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, beyond 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".^[1] Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe 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".^[2] He also argued that other countries had raised "compact walls of derision and enmity towards German will of life".^[1]

During the early Cold War, Vennberg was an adherent of the so-called "third stance" (Swedish: 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.^[3] In 1948 he participated in the founding of the Intellectuals' International Relations Committee for Peace, a USSR-controlled front organization which summoned the World Congress of Intellectuals for Peace of 1948 in Wrocław.^[3]

Awards and honors

Karl Vennberg won a number of literary prizes during his career:

Samfundet De Nios pris, 1956
The Bellman 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, 1994

He was also awarded an honorary doctorate at Stockholm University.

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Lagerlöf, Karl Erik (1967). Den unge Karl Vennberg (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier.
↑ Ahlmark, Per (1994). Vänstern och tyranniet : det galna kvartsseklet (in Swedish). Stockholm: Timbro. p. 174. ISBN 91-7566-274-4.
↑ 3.0 3.1 Häggman, Bertil (1991). Medlöparna (in Swedish). Stockholm: Contra. p. 87. ISBN 91-86092-22-7.

External links

Karl Vennberg – Albert Bonnier publishing house presentation page (in Swedish)

Nordic Council Literature Prize winners

1960s	1962: The Days of His Grace – Eyvind Johnson 1963: Under the North Star 3: Reconciliation – Väinö Linna 1964: The Ice Palace – Tarjei Vesaas 1965: From Hell to Paradise – Olof Lagercrantz and The Good Hope – William Heinesen 1966: Diwan on the Prince of Emgion – Gunnar Ekelöf 1967: Nye noveller – Johan Borgen 1968: Flight of the Eagle – Per Olof Sundman 1969: The Legionnaires – Per Olov Enquist

1970s	1970: Anna, I, Anna – Klaus Rifbjerg 1971: Coast of Slaves, Ships of Slaves & Islands of Slaves – Thorkild Hansen 1972: Sju ord på tunnelbanan – Karl Vennberg 1973: Kersantin poika – Veijo Meri 1974: Uden mål – og med – Villy Sørensen 1975: Siinä näkijä missä tekijä – Hannu Salama 1976: Að laufferjum & Að brunnum – Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson 1977: I de mörka rummen, i de ljusa – Bo Carpelan 1978: Dalen Portland – Kjartan Fløgstad 1979: Pubertet – Ivar Lo-Johansson

1980s	1980: Vredens barn – Sara Lidman 1981: Hauströkkrið yfir mér – Snorri Hjartarson 1982: Samuels bok – Sven Delblanc 1983: Om fjorten dage – Peter Seeberg 1984: The Christmas Oratorio – Göran Tunström 1985: A Day in Ostrobothnia – Antti Tuuri 1986: Líkasum – Rói Patursson 1987: Hudløs himmel – Herbjørg Wassmo 1988: Justice Undone – Thor Vilhjálmsson 1989: Roman 1987 – Dag Solstad

1990s	1990: For the Living and the Dead – Tomas Tranströmer 1991: The Sun, My Father – Nils-Aslak Valkeapää 1992: Night Watch – Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir 1993: Byen og verden – Peer Hultberg 1994: Blackwater – Kerstin Ekman 1995: Angels of the Universe – Einar Már Guðmundsson 1996: Hva skal vi gjøre i dag og andre noveller – Øystein Lønn 1997: Bang. En roman om Herman Bang – Dorrit Willumsen 1998: After Having Spent a Night Among Horses – Tua Forsström 1999: Queen's Gate – Pia Tafdrup

2000s	2000: Drømmebroer – Henrik Nordbrandt 2001: The Discoverer – Jan Kjærstad 2002: The Half Brother – Lars Saabye Christensen 2003: Revbensstäderna – Eva Ström 2004: Juoksuhaudantie – Kari Hotakainen 2005: The Blue Fox – Sjón 2006: The Ocean – Göran Sonnevi 2007: Drömfakulteten – Sara Stridsberg 2008: Bavian – Naja Marie Aidt 2009: I Curse the River of Time – Per Petterson

2010s	2010: Purge – Sofi Oksanen 2011: Between the Trees – Gyrðir Elíasson 2012: Days in the History of Silence – Merethe Lindstrøm 2013: The Prophets of Eternal Fjord – Kim Leine 2014: Mirage 38 – Kjell Westö

List of Nordic Council's Literature Prize winners and nominees

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 114541999 LCCN: n80034252 ISNI: 0000 0001 1480 2918 GND: 119186667 BNF: cb12136973c (data)

Karl Vennberg

Political views

Awards and honors

References

Further reading

External links