Olof Lagercrantz
Encyclopedia
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
– July 23, 2002) was a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
writer, critic, literary scholar (PhD 1951) and publicist (editor-in-chief of Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
1960-1975). The son of bank director Carl Lagercrantz and Countess Agnes Hamilton, he married Martina Ruin (born 1921), daughter of Professor Hans Ruin and Karin Sievers, in 1939. Lagercrantz is the father of actress Marika Lagercrantz
Marika Lagercrantz
Marika Karin Louise Lagercrantz is a Swedish actress. She is the daughter of Olof Lagercrantz, granddaughter of Hans Ruin, sister of David Lagercrantz, and cousin of Lars and Johan Lönnroth. She resides in Bagarmossen, a suburb of Stockholm.-Selected filmography:-References:...
and author David Lagercrantz. His sister Lis Asklund was an author, social worker, curator, and program producer for Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...
. His nephews Lars Lönnroth and Johan Lönnroth
Johan Lönnroth
Johan Magnus Lönnroth, is a Swedish left-wing politician and a economist. He was a Member of parliament for the Swedish Left Party 1991–2003. He is currently working part time at University of Gothenburg.- Swedish :...
are also famous in their own right.
Lagercrantz commanded considerable influence as a critic and publicist. He became an expert of sorts in literary biography, and several of his studies on important Swedish writers are still cornerstones of Swedish literary studies, in particular, his biography of August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
(1979) and his portrait of his friend Gunnar Ekelöf
Gunnar Ekelöf
Gunnar Ekelöf was a Swedish poet and writer. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1958. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy by Uppsala University in 1958...
, Jag bor i en annan värld men du bor ju i samma.
During the latter part of his professional life, Lagercrantz' concerns in his role as literary critic and cultural pundit progressed from the strictly aesthetic to the political. In 1958, he published a biography of the late poet Stig Dagerman
Stig Dagerman
Stig Dagerman was a Swedish author and journalist.Stig Dagerman was one of the most prominent Swedish authors during the 1940s...
which was severely criticized by a young Beppe Wolgers
Beppe Wolgers
John Bertil "Beppe" Wolgers was a Swedish author, poet, translator, lyricist, actor, entertainer and artist.Wolgers was born in Stockholm...
for being confined to Dagerman's "dark predicament" and not completely representing a man "who paid such great interest to cinema as well as football". Lagercrantz' political engagement became apparent during his time at Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
, where he was head of the cultural section from 1951 and editor-in-chief from 1960 on. He was an influential, albeit controversial, voice in the political and cultural radicalism
Cultural radicalism
Cultural Radicalism was a movement in Danish culture. It was particular strong in the Interwar Period, but its philosophy has its origin in the 1870s and a great deal of modern social commentary still refer to it....
of the 1960s and 1970s, assuming a crucial role in the national secularization debate.
Lagercrantz in his public role gave rise to strong emotions. His cultural radicalism in particular was perceived as provocative in light of his aristocratic background (his mother belonged to the noble Hamilton family). Lagercrantz was widely criticized for the conciliatory and fairly positive appraisals of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
that he published in Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
after travelling as a journalist to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Lagercrantz dwelt on parts of this in his autobiographical works. His upper-class childhood and adolescence are the subject of Min första krets (1982), and the turbulence of his time at Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
is the topic of his memoir Ett år på sextiotalet (1990).
Olof Lagercrantz grew up in Falköping
Falköping
Falköping is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 15,821 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The city of Falköping most likely emerged during the 15th century but earlier the town was an important site of pilgrimage due to its 12th century church...
and in 2001 was awarded the title of Honorary Resident of Skaraborg
Skaraborg
-Places:*Skaraborg County - a former county of Sweden*Västergötland - a historical province of Sweden that includes the area of the former county*Västra Götaland County - a current county of Sweden that includes the area of the former county...
by the Skaraborg Academy in tribute to the fact he had wielded one of the mightiest pens of the 20th century.