Johannes Anyuru (born 23 March 1979) is a Swedish poet and author.

Johannes Anyuru
Johannes Anyuru in 2010.
Johannes Anyuru in 2010.
Born (1979-03-23) 23 March 1979 (age 45)
Borås, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
Period2003–
Notable workStäderna inuti Hall

Biography

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Anyuru was born in Borås.[1] His father is from Uganda and his mother is Swedish.[2]

He debuted in 2003 with Det är bara gudarna som är nya (Only The Gods Are New), a poetry collection. In this collection of poems Anyuru 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.[3] 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.[4] Anyurus second poetry collection, Omega, is a much more downbeat since it deals with the loss of a close friend to cancer.[5] Anyurus third collection, Städerna inuti Hall (The Cities Inside Hall)[6] 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)[7] 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 the National Swedish Touring Theatre called Abstrakt rap. Both projects has been released as CD's.[8]

In December 2009 he debuted with his first play Förvaret (The Detention Centre), at Gothenburg City Theatre, co-written with Aleksander Motturi.[9]

During the summer of 2010, he was one of several hosts of legendary radio program Sommar.[10]

Bibliography

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  • Det är bara gudarna som är nya (poetry collection, 2003)
  • Omega (poetry collection, 2005)
  • Städerna inuti Hall (poetry collection, 2009)
  • Skulle jag dö under andra himlar (novel, 2010)
  • En storm kom från paradiset (novel, 2012)
  • A Storm Blew in From Paradise (novel, 2015; translated into English by Rachel Willson-Broyles, 2019)
  • De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar (novel, 2017)
  • They Will Drown in their Mothers' Tears (novel, 2017; translated into English by Saskia Vogel, 2019)

Honours

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  • Nöjesguiden Magazine award for best read 2003
  • Guldprinsen prize 2003
  • Kallebergers scholarship 2005
  • Spingo-scholarship 2005
  • Augustpriset nominee 2012, winner 2017

References

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  1. ^ "Växjö – Johannes Anyuru sommarvärd i P1". 8 June 2010.
  2. ^ SVT 1: Babel 9 September 2010
  3. ^ Fanny Söderbäck (7 July 2003). "Gamla gudar och nya" (in Swedish). DN.se. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  4. ^ Fries, Jonna (22 September 2009). "Litteratur: Johannes Anyuru, Städerna inuti Hall". tidningenkulturen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  5. ^ Lundberg, Johan (18 August 2005). "Recension: Anyuru, Johannes – Omega (Övrigt) | Litteratur | SvD". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Svd.se. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  6. ^ Johannes Anyuru (16 January 2010). "Utdrag ur "Städerna inuti Hall" s. 27-30" (in Swedish). DN.se. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Skulle jag dö under andra himlar – Johannes Anyuru – Bokus bokhandel" (in Swedish). Bokus.com. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  8. ^ Andreas Ekström (10 November 2004). "Poeten som rappar orimmat" (in Swedish). DN.se. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  9. ^ Ingegärd Waaranperä ingegard.waaranpera@dn.se (13 December 2009). ""Förvaret" på Nya Studion Göteborgs Stadsteater" (in Swedish). DN.se. Archived from the original on 17 December 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  10. ^ "Johannes Anyuru - Sommar i P1 | Sveriges Radio". Sverigesradio.se. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
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