Flowering Nettle
This book is partially an autobiographical novel describing the writer’s childhood and youth in a Swedish provincial village between the 19th and 20th centuries.
The orphan child Martin is the main protagonist of a story, who is Harry Martinson's alter ego. The novel is written from the perspective of the child.
Martin was born into a poor family and grew up during the 20th century. He is the youngest and only boy in a family of five siblings. The family initially lives happily. Inez, Martion’s favorite sister in his childhood dies of tuberculosis. When the father then becomes seriously ill and dies, Betty decides to leave her children and travel to California. The children were separated, and Martin, who is only seven years old, was sent to Vilnäs, and a few months later to farms in Tollene and Norda.
From an early age, Martin was introduced to hard work on the farm.
„He often cried and wondered why he doesn't hate her.“Harry Martinson (6 May 1904 – 11 February 1978) was a Swedish author and poet.
Martinson was born in Jämshög, Blekinge County in south-eastern Sweden.
At a young age he lost both his parents whereafter he was placed as a foster child (Kommunalbarn) in the Swedish countryside. At the age of sixteen Martinson ran away and signed onto a ship to spend the next years sailing around the world visiting countries including Brazil and India.
In 1929, he debuted as a poet. Together with Artur Lundkvist, Gustav Sandgren, Erik Asklund and Josef Kjellgren he authored the anthology Fem unga (Five Youths), which introduced Swedish modernism.
His novel Nässlorna blomma (Flowering Nettles) was published in 1935.
One of his most noted works is the poetic cycle Aniara, was published in 1956 and became an opera in 1959.
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