Swedish Working-Class Fiction

Dear Colleagues,

Swedish working-class fiction has been described as a unique contribution to world literature. The way in which a single generation of self-educated writers made a collective breakthrough in the 1930s, through a number of highly recognized autobiographical novels about underprivileged childhoods, is unparalleled. These texts quickly became central in the national literary canon, and they had a profound impact on Swedish 20^th century policies. The novels shaped a solid cultural and narrative platform from which a large portion of later Swedish literature has developed. Still today, the strong position of working-class fiction in Swedish literary history has a significant impact on what is written, published, discussed and read in Sweden. The rationale of this Special Issue is to explore this tradition, beyond any strict theoretical, thematic or historical restrictions. Contributions may examine Swedish working-class fiction from any time period—before, during or after the so called “golden age” of the 1930s—and may focus on domestically Swedish contexts or its existence and positions abroad. The central, collective ambition is to compose a broad and substantial presentation of this particular literary current—addressed to international scholars and students—that clarifies its specific significance in the world of letters. 

In response to Swedish working-class fiction, please send an abstract of no more than 300 words, together with a short bibliography of primary and critical texts, to Paul Tenngart at paul.tenngart@litt.lu.se. Abstracts are due by 31 December 2022. Finished essays of around 6000 words are due by 1 March 2023.

Dr. Paul Tenngart
Guest Editor

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