Biography:Sara Danius

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Short description: Swedish academic
Sara Maria Danius
Sara Danius 2017.jpg
Danius in 2017
Born
Sara Maria Danius

(1962-04-05)5 April 1962
Täby, Sweden
Died12 October 2019(2019-10-12) (aged 57)
Stockholm, Sweden
Alma materUppsala University
Duke University
University of Nottingham
Stockholm University
Spouse(s)
Stefan Jonsson (m. 1989⁠–⁠2010)
InstitutionsSwedish Academy
Södertörn University
Uppsala University
Stockholm University
Member of the Swedish Academy
(Seat No. 7)
In office
20 December 2013 – 26 February 2019
Preceded byKnut Ahnlund
Succeeded byÅsa Wikforss
Permament Secretary
of the Swedish Academy
In office
May 2015 – April 2018
Preceded byPeter Englund
Succeeded byAnders Olsson

Sara Maria Danius (5 April 1962 – 12 October 2019) was a Swedish literary critic and philosopher, and a scholar of literature and aesthetics. Danius was professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University,[1] docent of literature at Uppsala University[2] and professor in literary science at Stockholm University.[3]

Danius was a member of the Swedish Academy and its first female permanent secretary.[4] She was one of the central figures in the 2018 controversies resulting in the cancellation of the Nobel Prize in Literature that year and the following restructuring of the academy.[5]

Early life and education

Danius was the daughter of author Anna Wahlgren (1942-2022) and Lars Danius (1907–1996).[6] She was the oldest of nine full and half siblings.[7] She went to Åva gymnasium in Täby, where she studied natural science.[8] She played basketball in Elitserien, the highest league in Sweden, and continued to play on a recreational level throughout her life.[8][9] In 1981–82, she worked as a certified croupier and dealer at casinos in Stockholm.[8][9]

Danius graduated from Stockholm University in 1986.[10] She received her Master of Arts in critical theory at the University of Nottingham in 1989. She lived in the United States for ten years and, in 1997, received a PhD from Duke University. In 1999 she received a PhD from Uppsala University.[3][10] She published on the relationship between literature and society and wrote about Marcel Proust, Gustave Flaubert, and James Joyce.

Career

Danius was a literary critic for the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter from 1986.[6] In 2008, she became professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University[1] and docent of literature at Uppsala University.[2] She was an executive member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters since 2010,[11] and in 2013 became professor in literary science at Stockholm University.[3]

"Perseverance, self-criticism, inquisitiveness. I'm not particularly curious, but I can become obsessed with certain things. I have realized I'm something of a nerd."
—Danius about her career in a 2013 interview[3]

File:Sara Danius announces the Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 03.webm In March 2013, Danius was elected to the Swedish Academy, succeeding Knut Ahnlund on chair 7. Danius was formally installed in the academy at a ceremony on 20 December 2013.[1][2] She took over the post as permanent secretary of the academy from Peter Englund on 1 June 2015.[4][12]

She played a central role in awarding the literature Nobel to Bob Dylan.[1] This was the first time a musician and songwriter won the Nobel Prize in Literature.[2] The award caused some controversy, particularly among writers arguing that the literary merits of Dylan's work are not equal to those of some of his peers.

She was asked to resign from her position and left the academy on 12 April 2018, against the background of critique over the academy's handling of the Me Too-related Jean-Claude Arnault scandal.[5][13] The scandal evolved into the 2018 controversies resulting in the cancellation of the Nobel Prize in Literature that year and the following restructuring of the academy.[14][15]

Two former permanent secretaries, Sture Allén and Horace Engdahl, called Danius a weak leader in her handling of the affair.[16] On 26 February 2019 she resigned from her seat at the Swedish Academy.[17] Her move came after several academy members tried to sweep the scandal under the rug, prompting the resignation of three academy members "in disgust."[18][19]

Personal life

Danius was interested in fashion.[3][20] At the Nobel Banquets she wore specially designed dresses by Pär Engsheden and inspired by three authors she admired: Marcel Proust, Honoré de Balzac and Virginia Woolf.[21] Her signature garment, a pussy bow blouse,[20][22] became a symbol to wear for those who supported her during the Swedish Academy crisis.[23]

From 1989 to 2010, she was married to author Stefan Jonsson. They had a son named Leo.[6][8]

Danius died on 12 October 2019, aged 57, after having suffered from breast cancer for several years.[24][25][26]

Bibliography

  • Försök om litteratur, Stockholm: Bonnier, 1998. ISBN:9789100567569.
  • Prousts motor, Stockholm: Bonnier, 2000. ISBN:9789100571061.
  • The senses of modernism: technology, perception, and aesthetics, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002. ISBN:0-8014-3899-3.
  • The prose of the world: Flaubert and the art of making things visible, Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2006. ISBN:91-554-6599-4
  • Voices: contemporary ceramic art from Sweden, Stockholm: Carlsson, 2006. ISBN:91-7203-778-4.
  • Proust-Benjamin : om fotografin, 2011. ISBN:978-91-86883-05-8.
  • Näsa för nyheter : essä om James Joyce, 2013. ISBN:978-91-87219-02-3.
  • Den blå tvålen: Romanen och konsten att göra saker och ting synliga, 2013. ISBN:978-91-0-012049-8.
  • Husmoderns död och andra texter, Stockholm: Bonnier, 2014. ISBN:9789100171971.
  • Om Bob Dylan, 2018. ISBN:9789100177812.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Ny ledamot i Svenska Akademien" (Press release) (in svenska). Swedish Academy. 7 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wiman, Björn (7 March 2013). "DN-medarbetare tar plats i Svenska akademien" (in sv). Dagens Nyheter. http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/dn-medarbetare-tar-plats-i-svenska-akademien/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Anell, Eva (1 October 2013). "Vill bidra med humor och olydnad" (in sv). Curie. https://www.tidningencurie.se/nyheter/2013/10/01/vill-bidra-med-humor-och-olydnad/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Sara Danius ersätter Peter Englund" (in sv). Dagens Nyheter. 20 December 2014. http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/sara-danius-ersatter-peter-englund/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jones, Evelyn (12 April 2018). "Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy leaves her position". Dagens Nyheter. https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/permanent-secretary-of-the-swedish-academy-leaves-her-position/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Sara Danius, Vem är det: Svensk biografisk handbok 1993, p. 235
  7. ↑ Brown, Andrew (17 July 2018). "The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/17/the-ugly-scandal-that-cancelled-the-nobel-prize-in-literature. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Sara Danius – från croupière till första kvinna som ständig sekreterare" (in sv). Dagens Nyheter. 12 October 2019. https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/sara-danius-ar-for-ar/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Danius, Sara" (in sv). Swedish Academy. https://www.svenskaakademien.se/svenska-akademien/ledamotsregister/danius-sara. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sara Danius , profile at Södertörn University (in Swedish)
  11. ↑ "Sara Danius" (in sv). Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. http://www.vitterhetsakad.se/ledamoter/matrikel/218. 
  12. ↑ "Chair no. 7 – Sara Danius". The Swedish Academy. http://www.svenskaakademien.se/en/the-academy/chair-no-7-sara-danius. 
  13. ↑ "Sara Danius forlater Svenska Akademien" (in nb-NO). Aftenposten. https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/wEbb05/Sara-Danius-forlater-Svenska-Akademien. 
  14. ↑ "Nobel Prize for Literature postponed amid Swedish Academy turmoil". BBC. 4 May 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43999240. 
  15. ↑ Holmgren, Mia (2 May 2018). "Kungen: Det är nu Akademiens ansvar att vidta nödvändiga åtgärder" (in sv). Dagens Nyheter. https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/kungen-det-ar-nu-akademiens-ansvar-att-vidta-nodvandiga-atgarder/. 
  16. ↑ Anderson, Christina (12 April 2018). "In Nobel Scandal, a Man Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct. A Woman Takes the Fall.". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/world/europe/sara-danius-swedish-nobel-scandal.html. 
  17. ↑ "Sara Danius lämnar Svenska Akademien" (Press release) (in svenska). Svenska Akademien. 26 February 2019.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Christina (2018-04-07). "Swedish Academy in Crisis as 3 Members Quit Amid #MeToo Scandal" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/world/europe/swedish-academy-abuse-accusations.html. 
  19. ↑ Anderson, Christina (2018-04-12). "In Nobel Scandal, a Man Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct. A Woman Takes the Fall." (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/world/europe/sara-danius-swedish-nobel-scandal.html. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Ljung, Susanne (12 January 2018). "Susanne Ljung möter Sara Danius" (in sv). Sveriges Radio. https://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/1007704?programid=2794. 
  21. ↑ Strömqvist, Susanna (22 February 2018). "Pär Engsheden om tanken bakom Sara Danius Nobelklänningar: "Skapade som en trilogy"" (in sv). ELLE. https://www.elle.se/par-engsheden-om-tanken-bakom-sara-danius-nobelklanningar-skapade-som-en-triologi/. 
  22. ↑ Strömquist, Susanna (12 December 2015). "Sara Danius: "Jag är alltid på jakt efter en snygg knytblus"" (in sv). ELLE. https://www.elle.se/sara-danius-jag-ar-alltid-pa-jakt-efter-en-snygg-knytblus/. 
  23. ↑ Jerdén, Erik (12 April 2018). "Knytblus-upprop till stöd för Danius" (in sv). Svenska Dagbladet. https://www.svd.se/knytblus-upprop-till-stod-for-danius. 
  24. ↑ Jones, Evelyn (12 October 2019). "Former Secretary of the Swedish Academy Sara Danius is dead". Dagens Nyheter. https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/former-secretary-of-the-swedish-academy-sara-danius-is-dead/. 
  25. ↑ Farran-Lee, Lydia; Wikén, Erik (12 October 2019). "Sara Danius död efter lång tids sjukdom" (in sv). SVT. https://www.svt.se/kultur/sara-danius-dod. 
  26. ↑ "Former head of scandal-hit Swedish Academy dies of cancer". Reuters. 12 October 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nobel-prize-literature-danius-idUSKBN1WR0AO. 

Further reading

Cultural offices
Preceded by
Knut Ahnlund 		Swedish Academy,
Seat No.7
2013–2019 		Succeeded by
Åsa Wikforss



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