Pär Lagerkvist

Pär Fabian Lagerkvist was born on May 23, 1891, in Växjö, Småland. Reared in a pious railway worker's home, his exposure to Darwinism and modern art in Paris inspired his radical 1913 manifesto Ordkonst och bildkonst (Word Art and Picture Art), calling for expressive cubism in literature.

Lagerkvist was an early and fearless critic of totalitarian fascism, publishing Bödeln (The Hangman) in 1933. His 1944 masterpiece Dvärgen (The Dwarf) offered a chilling psychological allegory of inner human malice set in Renaissance Italy. His 1950 novel Barabbas, recounting the tormented spiritual quest of the thief released in place of Christ, brought him global renown and was adapted into a classic Hollywood film. He was awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize in Literature.