Eyvind Johnson

Johnson, Eyvind 

Born July 29, 1900, near Boden. Swedish writer. Member of the Swedish Academy (1957); co-recipient of the Nobel Prize with H. Martinson (1974).

Johnson’s first collection of short stories, Four Strangers (1924), was followed by the novel Timans and Justice (1925), in which he denounces Christianity as hostile to the emancipation of the working class. The influence of psychoanalysis may be seen in his novel Remembered (1928). A factory owner is depicted with caustic irony in the novel Commentary on a Falling Star (1929), and the cycle of novels about Olof (1934–37) portrays the lives of working-class youth. Johnson’s novel Night Maneuvers (1938) and the trilogy Krilon: A Novel About the Possible (1941–43) attack fascism. His novellas Pan Against Sparta (1946) and Surf (1946) and his historical novels Dreams About Roses and Fire (1949) and Storm Clouds Over Metapontion (1957) show the influence of symbolism. Another notable historical work is The Age of His Greatness (1960), a novel about the reign of Charlemagne.

WORKS

Spar förbi kolonos. [Stockholm, 1961.]
In Russian translation:
[“Rasskazy.”] In the collection Shvedskaia novella XIX-XX vv. Moscow, 1964.

REFERENCE

Svensk litteratur 1900–1950 Stockholm [1958].
Andersson, U. “Eyvind Johnson i Grekland.” Ny Dag, Jan. 2, 1962.

A. V. MAMONTOV