Johannes Anyuru
Encyclopedia
Johannes Anyuru, born 23 March 1979, is a Swedish poet and author. His father is from Uganda
and his mother is Swedish.
Anyuru debuted in 2003 with Det är bara gudarna som är nya (Only The Gods Are New), a poetry collection. In this collection of poems used Homer
's epic Iliad
as a background and inspiration for the portrayal of immigrant neighborhoods. A place that is often mentioned in his poetry is the area around Mörners road in Växjö
, where Anyuru lived as a child. Reviews of this book linked his style to both older contemporary Swedish poets as Göran Sonnevi
or Tomas Tranströmer
, and hip hop band The Latin Kings
. Anyurus second poetry collection, Omega, is a much more downbeat since it deals with the lost of a close friend to cancer. Anyurus third collection, Städerna inuti Hall (The Cities Inside Hall) was published in 2009 and describes sad socio-political landscape.
His fourth book Skulle jag dö under andra himlar (If I Were to Die Under Other Skies) is not a poetry book, but prose
.
He has also worked with spoken word
as part of the group Broken Word and a touring performance with National Theatre Company
called Abstrakt rap. Both projects has been released as Cd’s.
In December 2009 he debuted with his first play Förvaret (Defence), at Gothenburg City Theatre, co-written with Aleksander Motturi.
During the summer of 2010, he was one of several hosts of legendary radio program Sommar
.
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and his mother is Swedish.
Anyuru debuted in 2003 with Det är bara gudarna som är nya (Only The Gods Are New), a poetry collection. In this collection of poems used Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's epic Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
as a background and inspiration for the portrayal of immigrant neighborhoods. A place that is often mentioned in his poetry is the area around Mörners road in Växjö
Växjö
Växjö is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 64 200 inhabitants in 2010. It is the administrative, cultural and industrial centre of Kronoberg County. Furthermore it is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Växjö. It has a population of about 64 200, out of a...
, where Anyuru lived as a child. Reviews of this book linked his style to both older contemporary Swedish poets as Göran Sonnevi
Göran Sonnevi
Göran Sonnevi is a Swedish poet and translator. Sonnevi grew up in Halmstad; he studied literature and linguistics at the University of Lund, also getting librarian training...
or Tomas Tranströmer
Tomas Tranströmer
Tomas Gösta Tranströmer is a Swedish writer, poet and translator, whose poetry has been translated into over 60 languages. Tranströmer is acclaimed as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since the Second World War...
, and hip hop band The Latin Kings
The Latin Kings
The Latin Kings, abbreviated TLK, was a Swedish hip hop group from the municipality of Botkyrka in the southern suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden....
. Anyurus second poetry collection, Omega, is a much more downbeat since it deals with the lost of a close friend to cancer. Anyurus third collection, Städerna inuti Hall (The Cities Inside Hall) was published in 2009 and describes sad socio-political landscape.
His fourth book Skulle jag dö under andra himlar (If I Were to Die Under Other Skies) is not a poetry book, but prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
.
He has also worked with spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
as part of the group Broken Word and a touring performance with National Theatre Company
Riksteatern
Riksteatern is the name of the popular "National Touring Theatre"/"National Theatre Company" in Sweden. It's the biggest theatre company on tour in Sweden and can, in one way, almost be described as Sweden's national stage on tour....
called Abstrakt rap. Both projects has been released as Cd’s.
In December 2009 he debuted with his first play Förvaret (Defence), at Gothenburg City Theatre, co-written with Aleksander Motturi.
During the summer of 2010, he was one of several hosts of legendary radio program Sommar
Sommar (radio program)
Sommar is one of the most popular Swedish radio programs ever. It has been broadcast every summer on P1 since 28 June 1959. Before 1993 it aired in P3...
.
Honours
- NöjesguidenNöjesguidenNöjesguiden is a Nordic free-of-charge young adult monthly magazine, available in the major cities in Sweden, which was established in 1982. In Finland, the equivalent magazine is City-lehti and in Norway Natt og Dag....
Magazine award for best read 2003 - Guldprinsen prize 2003
- Kallebergers scholarship 2005
- Spingo-scholarship 2005
External links
- http://www.dn.se/dnbok/nominerad-till-dns-kulturpris-2010-johannes-anyuru-1.1027590