| |
| | Harry Martinson |
 | | Harry Martinson’s biographer, Sonja Erfurth, writes that when Martin Olofsson, Harry Martinson’s father, first saw Bengta Svensdotter, the author’s mother, he was so taken by her beauty and charm that he abruptly abandoned his previous fiance and from that moment would not leave Bengta alone. |
| | In his novel Nasslorna blomma, Harry Martinson describes his mother’s sudden departure as “mother Betty’s inexplicable flight.” Throughout the novel, the author’s alter ego, the young boy Martin, keeps repeating the line “My father is dead and my mother is in California,” emphasizing that loss is one of the central themes of the book. |
| | Toward the end of the book, Martinson sets the tone for the sequel in the author’s account of his childhood, and he clearly establishes that longing, the desire to be with his mother again, is a central force in his life. |
| www.awardt.com /bio/martinson2 (2168 words) |
|
