Harry Martinson (6 May 1904 – 11 February 1978) was a Swedish author, 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 and had partaken in endorsing themselves as laureates.He has been called "the great reformer of 20th century Swedish poetry, the most original of the writers called 'proletarian'."
Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, Vol. 130, pp. 286-290. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.
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After his Nobelprize in 1974 he developed mental instability. In 1978 his condition was so bad that he was rushed to a hospital (Karolinska sjukhuset), there he committed sucide by cutting up his stomach with an hospital scissor, in other words: harakiri. He was 73 years old.
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Most famous books: "Nässlorna blomma" (1935), "Vägen till Klockrike" (1948) and "Aniara" (1956). He has also written psalm no 202 in the Swedish hymn book.
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Received the Nobel prize in literature in 1974 "for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos". He shared the prize with Eyvind Johnson.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Aniara
1960
TV Movie poem
Vägen till Klockrike
1953
novel / screenplay
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Vägen till Klockrike
1953
Prisoner in Quarry (uncredited)
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1974
Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize
"for writings that catch the dewdrop and reflect the cosmos" (Nobel Prize tied with Eyvind Johnson
$100,000