Kristina Lugn


Gunhild Bricken Kristina Lugn was a Swedish poet and dramatist and member of the Swedish Academy.

Early life

Kristina Lugn was born in Tierp and grew up in Skövde where her father, Major-General Robert Lugn, served in the Skaraborg Armoured Regiment, and her mother, Brita-Stina, was a lecturer.

Career

Kristina Lugn published eight collections of poems from 1972 with her debut Om jag inte. She also wrote drama and appeared in other media, for instance hosting the show Oförutsett which was broadcast on SVT in 1987. She hosted the show together with Jörn Donner and Bert Karlsson.
After the death of actor Allan Edwall in 1997, Lugn assumed the leadership of his small independent theatre Teater Brunnsgatan Fyra in Stockholm, where she also staged several of her own plays. She was art director for the theatre until 2011. Much appreciated by the Swedish audience, she touched on subjects such as loneliness, death and mid-life crises with irony, cynicism and black humour. After 2011 it was run by her daughter, the author Martina Montelius.
Some of her poetry has been translated into Serbian by Eleonora Luthander. Several of her plays have also been performed at Dramaten, including Tant Blomma, Idlaflickorna, Titta en älg! and Kvinnorna vid Svansjön. In 2002, Lugn hosted her own live talkshow for guests at Teater Brunnsgatan called Seg kväll med Lugn.
Together with author Henning Mankell, Kristina Lugn wrote the novel Tjuvbadarna.

Awards, distinctions, and music

On 20 December 2006, Lugn was elected into the Swedish Academy to replace Lars Gyllensten in chair 14.
She won awards including the Doblouska prize in 1999, the Selma Lagerlöf literature prize in 1999, the Bellman prize in 2002, the Gustaf Fröding Society's lyrics prize in 2007, and the Övralids prize in 2009.
During the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling on 19 June 2010, a newly composed piece of music called "Vilar glad. I din famn", composed by Lugn was performed.
Several known Swedish composers have worked with Lugn's poems including Gabriel Wilczkowski, Bo Ullman, Sven-David Sandström, Kim Hedås and Peter Gullin.
On 8 June 2014, Lugn was awarded the Karamelodiktstipendiet.

Death

Lugn was found dead in her home on 9 May 2020; the cause of death has not been released.

Selected bibliography

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