Per Olov Enquist facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Per Olov Enquist
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Per Olov Enquist at the Swedish Sports Awards inside the Stockholm Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden in January 2013
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| Born | 23 September 1934 Hjoggböle, Sweden |
| Died | 25 April 2020 (aged 85) Vaxholm, Sweden |
| Occupation | Journalist, playwright and novelist |
| Language | Swedish |
| Period | 1961–2020 |
| Notable work | The Visit of the Royal Physician |
Per Olov Enquist (born September 23, 1934 – died April 25, 2020) was a famous Swedish author. People often called him P. O. Enquist. He was a talented writer who worked as a journalist, wrote plays for the theater, and created many novels (books).
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Who Was Per Olov Enquist?
Per Olov Enquist grew up in a small village called Hjoggböle in Sweden. He was the only child of his mother, who became a widow when he was very young. When he was a teenager, he was a great athlete. He was especially good at high jump, jumping almost 2 meters high!
His Education and Early Writing
Enquist went to Uppsala University in Sweden. There, he studied the history of literature, which is about how books and writing have changed over time. While he was at university, he started writing his own stories. His first book, Kristallögat (which means The Crystal Eye), was published in 1961. He also started working as a journalist for newspapers.
Award-Winning Books and Plays
Per Olov Enquist became well-known around the world in 1968. He won the important Nordic Council's Literature Prize for his book Legionärerna. This book was about a true event: Sweden sending back soldiers from Baltic countries after World War II.
He wrote many more books based on real historical events.
- Kapten Nemos bibliotek (1991) was about two baby boys who were accidentally switched at birth.
- Livläkarens besök (1999) was about a doctor to a king.
- Lewis resa (2001) told the story of a religious leader named Lewi Pethrus.
- Boken om Blanche och Marie (2004) was about the famous scientist Marie Curie and a patient named Marie Wittman.
Enquist also wrote plays for the stage. His first play, Tribadernas natt (1975), was about the Swedish writer August Strindberg and his family.
Awards and Other Works
Per Olov Enquist received many awards for his writing.
- He won the Dobloug Prize in 1988.
- He received the Selma Lagerlöf Prize in 1997.
- In 2002, he won the Italian Flaiano Prize.
He didn't just write books and plays; he also wrote screenplays for movies! He wrote the scripts for films like Pelle Erövraren (1987) and Hamsun (1996). In 1993, he was even nominated for an award for Best Screenplay for the movie Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem.
His book Livläkarens besök won two more big awards in 2003: the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Nelly Sachs Prize. This book was based on the true story of Johann Friedrich Struensee, a doctor to the Danish King Christian VII in the 1770s. It explored the doctor's influence and his relationship with the king's wife, Caroline Matilda.
Livläkarens besök was one of two books by Enquist that won the August Prize, which is a very important Swedish literary award. The other book was his autobiography (a book about his own life) called Ett annat liv, published in 2008.
In 2009, he won the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, and in 2010, he received the Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize.
Per Olov Enquist passed away on April 25, 2020, after a long illness.
See also
In Spanish: Per Olov Enquist para niños
