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Sara Lidman

サラ・アデーラ・リドマン

Sara Adéla Lidman

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1923-12-30 （Missenträsk, Västerbotten, Sweden）
Died
2004-06-17 （Umeå, Sweden） age 80
Nationality
Swedish
Languages
Swedish
Residence History
Västerbotten (birth region) → Umeå (later life)

Career

Occupations
writer, novelist, journalist, activist
Active Years
1953-2003

Education

Uppsala University
Country: Sweden
Studies were interrupted by illness (tuberculosis).

Awards

Nordic Council's Literature Prize
1979
Work: Wrath's Children
Organization: Nordic Council
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tjärdalen (The Tar Still)

1953 Novel

An early major work set in northern Swedish rural life, exploring alienation and isolation.

alienationnorthern Swedish rural lifepoverty

Hjortronlandet (The Cloudberry Field)

1955 Novel

A second novel focusing on difficult conditions in the same region, emphasizing social realities.

peasant lifesocial hardshiptradition vs change

Regnspiran (The Rain Bird)

1958 Novel

A 1950s novel; an English translation exists.

language expressioncommunity
Translations
  • Translated into English by Elspeth Harley Schubert (Hutchinson, 1963)

Med fem diamanter (With Five Diamonds)

1964 Essays / Short prose

A volume including short pieces and essays.

personal narrativesocial observation

Vredens barn (Wrath's Children)

1979 Novel (part of a series)

A key work from a series about the colonization of northern Sweden in the 1970s; awarded the Nordic Council's Literature Prize.

colonizationsocial justiceland and labor

Nabots sten (Naboth's Stone)

1981 Novel

An early 1980s novel; an English translation has been published.

historical consciousnessland ownership
Translations
  • Translated into English by Joan Tate (Norvik Press, 1989)

Järnkronan (The Iron Crown)

1985 Novel

A mid-1980s novel depicting regional history and personal relationships.

historycommunity

Lifsens rot (The Root of Life)

1996 Novel

A later work exploring relationships between people and the land.

rootsgenerational ties

Oskuldens minut (Innocence's Minute)

1999 Novel

A late-1990s novel dealing with personal ethics and memory.

memoryconcepts of innocence

Kropp och själ (Body And Soul)

2003 Novel / Essays

One of her final publications, containing themes around body and spirit.

bodyspiritaging

Bibliography

  • Tjärdalen (1953)
  • Hjortronlandet (1955)
  • Regnspiran (1958)
  • Bära mistel (1960)
  • Jag och min son (1961)
  • Med fem diamanter (1964)
  • Samtal i Hanoi (1966)
  • Gruva (1968)
  • Marta, Marta (1970)
  • Din tjänare hör (1977)
  • Vredens barn (1979)
  • Nabots sten (1981)
  • Den underbare mannen (1983)
  • Järnkronan (1985)
  • Lifsens rot (1996)
  • Oskuldens minut (1999)
  • Kropp och själ (2003)

Translations of Works

  • English translation of Regnspiran by Elspeth Harley Schubert (Hutchinson, 1963)
  • English translation of Nabots sten by Joan Tate (Norvik Press, 1989)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Distinctive style combining vernacular dialects with Biblical languageConversational expression using regional speechRealistic yet symbolic description
Recurring Motifs
northern Swedish landscape and lifeland and laboralienation and isolationreligious imagery

Health

  • Tuberculosis
    学生時代（在学中）
    Studies were interrupted; the illness affected her life and later writing.

Legacy

Sara Lidman is regarded as one of the foremost Swedish-language writers of the 20th century. She is acclaimed for her unique fusion of vernacular and Biblical language and for addressing political and social themes, particularly the history and social issues of northern Sweden.

Trivia

  • She traveled to North Vietnam as part of her protest against the Vietnam War.
  • Supported the miners' strikes of 1969–1970 and was active against apartheid.
  • Wrote a series of novels between 1977 and 1985 dealing with the colonization of northern Sweden.