Authors
Lena Andersson Novelist Sweden
“I was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1970 where I have lived more or less all my life. In 1994 I received a Bachelor of Arts from Stockholm University, majoring in English, with a minor in Political Science and German. I tentatively began writing in my early twenties. It took some years of trying before I mastered it well enough to have my first book published, in 1999. My artistic propensities in terms of style and theme are a terse, precise prose full of subtext and hints, and dealing with society’s collective neuroses, lies and fears, as well as the power game in human relations, reflecting the greater power game in society. I draw literary inspiration from many sources, mainly 20th century European and American writers, among them Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco and Albert Camus. The absurdist way of viewing and portraying the world is my own. I also feel great kinship with the Swedish mid-20th century writer Pär Rådström. I have studied and traveled extensively in the United States, a country and a state of mind which constitutes one of my prime creative impulses. I make my living writing columns and literary and television critique for the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet.”
Lena’s first novel Is this OK? (Var det bra så?)(1999), based on her own experiences of growing up in the Stockholm suburbs where many immigrants live, treated a society without dreams, hopes of change, or ambitions, and she was praised for her realistic treatment of Sweden’s various social problems, hidden under the name of ethnic diversity and goodwill. Recently she has published So You’re Swedish? (Du är alltså svensk?)(2004), an absurd satire of today’s society and politics.
Participation Program
Round Table 3 Newness in my literature
Round Table 2 Newness in my literature
Round Table 1 Newness in my literature