Harry Martinson was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson "for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos". The choice was controversial, as both Martinson and Johnson were members of the academy.
Harry Martinson
The headstone on Martinson's grave in Silverdal, Sollentuna – north of Stockholm
1974 Nobel Prize in Literature
The 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded jointly to Swedish authors Eyvind Johnson (1900–1976) "for a narrative art, farseeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom" and Harry Martinson (1904–1978) "for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos." The winners were announced in October 1974 by Karl Ragnar Gierow, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, and later sparked heavy criticisms from the literary world.
Image: Eyvind
Johnson "for a narrative art, farseeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom," and Martinson "for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos."
Authors Eyvind Johnson, Annicka Jönsson, Harry Martinson and Gabriel Jönsson at a writers' meeting.
