Who is Stig Dagerman?

Stig Halvard Dagerman (5 October 1923 – 4 November 1954) was a Swedish journalist and writer. He was one of the most prominent Swedish authors writing in the aftermath of World War II, but his existential texts transcend time and place and continue to be widely published in Sweden and abroad.

What is the key word in Dagerman’s writings?

“The key word in Dagerman’s writings is freedom.” Dagerman broke onto the literary scene when he was twenty-two. He enjoyed phenomenal success publishing novels, short stories, a travel book about post-war Germany, plays, poems, and a large amount of journalism at a rapid rate. Then, suddenly he fell silent.

How did Dagerman become so famous?

In 1946, Dagerman became a household name in Sweden through his newspaper travelogue from war-ravaged Germany, later published in book form with the title Tysk Höst ( German Autumn ).

How does Dagerman portray the German people in the war?

Rather than blaming the German people for the war’s atrocities, calling them crazed or evil, Dagerman portrayed the human ordinariness of the men and women who scraped by in the ruins of war.

Are Stig Dagerman’s poems available in English?

Few of Stig Dagerman’s poems are available in English while several of his satirical verses have been translated (see Satirical Verse). One exception is Birgittasvit (Birgitta Suite), a poem Stig wrote while he struggled with the completion of Wedding Worriesin 1949. I vilket vatten är den vinge doppad som dryper svårmod över jordens panna?

What is the Stig Dagerman Prize?

The Stig Dagerman Society in Sweden annually awards the Stig Dagerman Prize to individuals who, like Dagerman, through their work promote empathy and understanding. In 2008, the prize went to the French writer J. M. G. Le Clézio, who later was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.