Lars Lönnroth | |
|---|---|
 At Gothenburg Book Fair, 2019 | |
| Born | (1935-06-04)4 June 1935 (age 90) Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Occupation | literary scientist |
| Parent | Erik Lönnroth |
| Awards | Dobloug Prize |
Lars Lönnroth (born 4 June 1935) is a Swedish literary scholar.
He was born inGothenburg toErik Lönnroth and Ebba Lagercrantz.
His academic career includes professorships at the University of California Berkeley,University of Aalborg and theUniversity of Gothenburg.[1]
Lönnroth gained his first degree atUppsala University in 1961, and his PhD atStockholm University in 1965.[2] He became associate professor in Scandinavian Studies atUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1965, and professor in literature and text science atAalborg University in 1974. From 1982 to 2000, he was professor in literary studies at theUniversity of Gothenburg,[3] with a short break when he wasSvenska Dagbladet's cultural director from 1991 to 1993. He was chairman ofStatens konstnärsnämnd from 1995 to 2001, and chairman ofSällskapet Gnistan from 1999 to 2013.
Lönnroth's research has to a large extent dealt with theIcelandic medievalsaga literature. Together withSven Delblanc, he was editor of the seven-volume work "Swedish Literature" (1987–90). He has written numerous other books including the 2005Ljuva karneval! on Sweden's 18th century bard,Carl Michael Bellman. He has published his memoirs and a personal book about his family heritage from the nationalist poet, historian and composerErik Gustav Geijer onwards, a legacy marked by the "poetry and madness" of the book's subtitle.[4]
Lönnroth was installed in 1993 as an honorary member of theSödermanlands-Nerikes nation in Uppsala. He is an honorary member of theSociety of Swedish Literature in Finland,[3] a member of theRoyal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters,[3] theRoyal Gustavus Adolphus Academy, and theRoyal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg.[3]
Reviewing theFestschrift written in his honour in 2000,[5] Ulf Malm described Lönnroth as "the energetically combative and polemically gifted literature professor from Gothenburg".[6]
InLjuva karneval!, written after some 40 years of research,[8] Lönnroth dispels the dominant 200 year old myth created byJohan Henric Kellgren that Bellman was always speaking for himself in his best-known work,Fredman's Epistles. The book explains that the reverse was the case; Bellman uninterruptedly played carefully-crafted roles,[7] including troubadour, court dramatist, and satirist.[9] The book presents Bellman as a skilful performance artist with an experimental, genre-crossing creativity.[10]Fredman's Epistles necessarily[8] take a central place in the book, but it offers much fresh detail on Bellman's lesser-known works, such asBacchi Tempel.[8]
Lars is the brother of the politicianJohan Lönnroth, the nephew of the authorOlof Lagercrantz,[11] and cousin of the actressMarika Lagercrantz and the journalist and authorDavid Lagercrantz.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Svenska Akademien har beslutat tilldela Lars Lönnroth ett extra pris på 100 000 kronor ur Akademiens egna medel.
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