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Eyvind Johnson

エイヴィンド・ジョンソン

Eyvind Johnson

Aliases: Olof Edvin Verner Jonsson
Pen Names: Eyvind Johnson（Used as his author/pen name (born Olof Edvin Verner Jonsson)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1900-07-29 （Björkelund (near Boden), Norrbotten, Sweden）
Died
1976-08-25 （Stockholm, Sweden） age 76
Nationality
Sweden
Languages
Swedish
Residence History
Björkelund (birthplace, Norrbotten) → Boden → Stockholm (moved 1919) → Saint-Leu-la-Forêt (near Paris, 1927–1930) → Switzerland (1947–1949) → England (around 1950) → Italy and France (travels and stays)

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer
Active Years
1924-1976
Affiliations
Swedish Academy (Member, Seat No.11)
Memberships
Swedish Academy
Influenced By
Marcel Proust, André Gide, James Joyce

Awards

Nobel Prize in Literature
1974
Organization: Swedish Academy
Result: 受賞
Nordic Council Literature Prize
1962
Work: The Days of His Grace (Hans nådes tid)
Organization: Nordic Council
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Romanen om Olof (The Novel about Olof / Here Is Your Life)

1934 autobiographical novel

A sequence of autobiographical novels following a young man, Olof, growing up in northern Sweden. Blends realism with fairy-tale elements and interior monologue; later adapted into film.

coming of agememorynorthern Sweden life
Adaptations
  • [film] Här har du ditt liv (Here Is Your Life) / Jan Troell (1960)
Translations
  • Here Is Your Life (English translation of Romanen om Olof)

Return to Ithaca (Strändernas svall)

1946 historical/retelling (based on Odyssey)

A retelling inspired by Odysseus's return to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Features mythic elements and modern reinterpretation.

returnmemory and timereconsideration of heroism
Translations
  • Return to Ithaca (translated into multiple languages)

The Days of His Grace (Hans nådes tid)

1960 historical novel

Uses historical settings to explore power, fate, and freedom. Internationally acclaimed and awarded the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

powerfreedomhistory and morality
Translations
  • The Days of His Grace (translated into multiple languages)

Krilon (trilogy)

1941 political allegory / anti-fascist novel

An allegorical trilogy dealing with events of World War II, condemning Nazism and critiquing wartime policies. Considered one of his major works.

anti-fascismpolitical allegorydefense of freedom

Dreams of Roses and Fire (Drömmar om rosor och eld)

1949 historical novel

Set in 17th-century France during Cardinal Richelieu's era. Depicts travel, power, and human relations to evoke the period.

historypowertravel

The Clouds above Metapontion (Molnen över Metapontion)

1957 historical fiction / experimental narrative

Noted for shifting between different time levels; interweaves past and present to probe historical consciousness.

timehistorical consciousnessmemory

Bibliography

  • De fyra främlingarna (1924)
  • Kommentar till ett stjärnfall (1929)
  • Romanen om Olof (1934–1937; published together 1945)
  • Krilon (1941–1943; published together 1948)
  • Strändernas svall (1946) / Return to Ithaca
  • Drömmar om rosor och eld (1949) / Dreams of Roses and Fire
  • Hans nådes tid (1960) / The Days of His Grace
  • Molnen över Metapontion (1957) / The Clouds above Metapontion

Adaptations

  • Här har du ditt liv (Here Is Your Life) — 1960 film directed by Jan Troell (adaptation of Romanen om Olof)

Translations of Works

  • Return to Ithaca — translated into English and other languages
  • The Days of His Grace — translated into English and other languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
modernist experimental narrationinterior monologue and shifting points of viewallegorical and historical reworking
Recurring Motifs
memorytravel and returnfreedom and powerlayered time

Legacy

Eyvind Johnson is regarded as one of the leading modernist writers in Swedish literature. His allegorical wartime works, historical novels and autobiographical sequence earned him high esteem. He became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and consolidated his international reputation by receiving the 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature (shared with Harry Martinson).

Museums

  • Birthhouse of Eyvind Johnson (Björkelund) Björkelund, near Boden, Norrbotten County, Sweden
  • Eyvind Johnson Society Sweden (society/online resources)

Academic Societies

  • Swedish Academy

Archives

  • Nobel Prize laureate page and materials held by the Eyvind Johnson Society

In Popular Culture

  • Jan Troell's film Here Is Your Life (adaptation of Romanen om Olof)

Quotes

  • for a narrative art, far-seeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom
    Source: Nobel Prize committee — citation for the 1974 award (1974)

Trivia

  • Left school at age 13 and worked various jobs including log driving and cinema projectionist.
  • Elected to the Swedish Academy in 1957 (Seat No.11).
  • Shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature with Harry Martinson.
  • His birth house in Björkelund is preserved with a commemorative plaque.