Ivar Lo-Johansson
Ivar Lo-Johansson (23 February 1901 – 11 April 1990) was a Swedish writer of the proletarian school. His autobiographical 1978 memoir, Pubertet (Puberty), won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1979.
Ivar Lo-Johansson

Alvin/Uppsala universitetsbibliotek · Public domain
- Born
- 1901. · Nynäshamn.
- Died
- 1990. · Stockholm.
- Nationality
- Sweden.
- Occupation
- writer, journalist, novelist, poet and autobiographer.
- Fields
- short novel and proletarian.
- Movements
- proletarian literature.
- Honours
- Dobloug Prize, Nordic Council Literature Prize, Samfundet De Nio's Grand Prize, honorary doctor of the University of Uppsala, Officer of Arts and Letters and Ivar Lo Award.
- Languages
- Swedish.
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Ivar Lo-Johansson (23 February 1901 – 11 April 1990) was a Swedish writer of the proletarian school. His autobiographical 1978 memoir, Pubertet (Puberty), won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1979.
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Note VALÉORINE
Ivar Lo-Johansson (1901–1990) was an autobiographer, journalist and novelist, among other activities, of Swedish nationality. The autobiographer was born in Nynäshamn and died in Stockholm. Ivar Lo-Johansson was associated with proletarian literature.
The work spans proletarian, proletarian literature and short novel. Languages used include Swedish. Honours include Dobloug Prize, Hedevind Plaquette and honorary doctor of the University of Uppsala, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q267242 · wikipedia · Ivar Lo-Johansson
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is Swedish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are short novel and proletarian. Distinctions recorded are Dobloug Prize, Nordic Council Literature Prize, Samfundet De Nio's Grand Prize and honorary doctor of the University of Uppsala.
Born Ivar Johansson in Ösmo in a family of agricultural labourers hired per year, he began using the name Ivar Lo-Johansson in his twenties, claiming "Lo" was a family name. Unsuccessfully trying to register the name, he was eventually registered by Swedish authorities as Karl Ivar Loe. In the 1920s, Ivar Lo-Johansson travelled in Europe. His early books were travel books depicting the working-class in France and England. Ivar Lo-Johansson wrote over 50 proletarian novels and short-stories, all of which carried vivid portrayals of working-class people. He described the situation of the Swedish land-workers, statare, in his novels, short stories, and journalism, which encouraged the adoption of certain land reforms in Sweden. He also caused much controversy with his features on old-age pensioners, gypsies, and other non-privileged people. He died, aged 89, in Stockholm. Ivar Lo-Johansson lived since 1934 in an apartment on Bastugatan in Stockholm, which shortly after his death in 1990 was turned into a museum.
Works
Works
Lo-Johansson first came to the literary fore in the mid-1930s with the publication of his novel Godnatt, jord (Good night, earth, 1933) and two short story collections. His stories were infused with realistic and detailed depictions of the plight of landless Swedish peasants, known as statare. The first of his collection of short stories to be published was Statarna I–II (1936–37; The Sharecroppers), followed by his Jordproletärerna (1941; Proletarians of the Earth). Autobiographical to a large extent, these works were nevertheless more than one man's story. They were a potent attack on the prevalent social conditions, especially the inequality in Swedish society. Lo-Johansson's books combined political astuteness and literary craftsmanship to such a competent degree that they are regarded as the stimulant behind the labor movement that ultimately led to the abolition of indentured farm labor in 1945. Lo-Johansson is best known for his memoirs, vivid recollections of the life in Swedish trade-unionist and literary circles of the twenties, thirties and forties. He also continued throughout his long life to insist that literature should face the world from the under-dog's perspective. Lo-Johansson's works are characterized by a vivid expression of individual human suffering. A great example of this motif is character of the farm servant's wife in the novel Bara en mor (1939, Only A Mother). He also explored the conflict between individualism and collectivism extensively in his autobiographical series of eight novels. He published the series in the 1950s beginning with Analfabeten (1951, The Illiterate). He published the last book in the series, Proletärförfattaren (The Proletarian Writer) in 1960. In the 1970s, he wrote numerous short stories dealing with the seven deadly sins. Following his acclaimed memoir Pubertet (1978, Puberty), he wrote a series of three further memoirs Asfalt (1979, Asphalt), Tröskeln (1982, The Threshold) and Frihet (1985, Freedom).
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Nynäshamn.
Birth place
Stockholm.
Death place
Legacy
Ivar Los park on Mariaberget, Stockholm is named after him. There is a 1991 bronze bust of Lo-Johansson by Nils Möllerberg in the park on Bastugatan. The Ivar Lo Society preserves his apartment in Stockholm as a museum. The Stockholm city library describes Lo-Johansson as "one of our greatest proletarian writers" and an "innovator of Swedish realistic prose, engaged with social issues like care of the elderly and the question of tied labour." The Swedish Trade Union Confederation awards an annual literary prize named in his honour; he was also the first recipient in 1986.

Harry Martinson (till vänster) och Ivar Lo-Johansson
Gunnar Herbert Lundh · Den svenska fotografins historia

Ivar tillsammans med Maria Nordberg - "Måna"
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Nordic cooperation. Literature Prizewinners 1962 – 2013.
- 2.Lotass, Lotta. IVAR LO-JOHANSSON. Litteraturbanken.
- 3.Lönnroth. Den svenska litteraturen. V: Modernister och arbetardiktare 1920–1950. Bonniers. 1987.
- 4.Stockholm stadsbibliotek (Stockholm city library). Ivar Lo-Johansson – författaren och människan (Ivar Lo-Johansson – author and person).
- 5.Hans O Alfredsson Ivar Lo-Johansson hette egentligen Loe Svenska Dagbladet 23 February 2010 (in Swedish)
- 6.Encyclopædia Britannica. Ivar Lo-Johansson.
- 7.Statarmuseet. Ivar Lo Johansson.
- 8.Ivar Lo-sällskapet. Ivar Lo-museet, en presentation.
- 9.Söders kulturelit tar strid för Ivar Los park (Söder's cultural elite join the fight for Ivar Los park). February 2026.
- 10.Stockholm City Council. Skulptur Stockholm: Ivar Lo-Johansson.
- 11.Ivar Lo-sällskapet (Ivar Lo Society). Ivar Lo-sällskapet.
- 12.Om priset Ivar Lo-priset. ivarlopriset.se.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 39
- Vagabondliv i Frankrike (1927)
- Kolet i våld. Skisser från de engelska gruvarbetarnas värld (1928)
- Ett lag historier (1928)
- Nederstigen i dödsriket. Fem veckor i Londons fattigvärld (1929)
- Zigenare. En sommar på det hemlösa folkets vandringsstigar (1929)
- Mina städers ansikten (1930)
- Jag tvivlar på idrotten (1931)
- Måna är död (1932)
- Godnatt, jord (1933)
- Kungsgatan (1935)
- Statarna (1936–37)
- Jordproletärerna (1941)
- Bara en mor (1939)
- Traktorn (1943)
- Geniet (1947)
- "En proletärförfattares självbiografi" (1951–60)
- Analfabeten (1951)
- Gårdfarihandlaren (1953)
- Stockholmaren (1954)
- Journalisten
- Författaren
- Socialisten
- Soldaten
- Proletärförfattaren
- Elektra Kvinna år 2070 (1967)
- "Passionssviten" (1968–72)
- Lyckan (1962)
- Astronomens hus (1966)
- Ordets makt (1973)
- Lastbara berättelser (1974)
- Memoirs (1978–85)
- Pubertet. (1978)
- Asfalt. (1979)
- Tröskeln. (1982)
- Frihet. (1985)
- Till en författare (1988)
- Skriva för livet (1989)
- Blå jungfrun (posthumous, 1990)
- Tisteldalen (posthumous, 1990)
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