Lagerkvist, Pär

Swedish author, born in Växjö as the youngest of seven siblings. His father was a railway station supervisor, and Pär Lagerkvist grew up in an apartment above the railway station restaurant. There was a strong cohesion within his family. The family was influenced by the rural environment from which it originated, and a pious and conservative Christian faith prevailed in the home. There were only three books: The Bible, the hymn-book, and Arndt's collection of sermons. Lagerkvist began writing short stories, romantic stories, and poems already as a youth, and he knew early on that he wanted to become an author. Already in 1906 he made his debut as a writer in Smålandsposten with the prose piece "Moderskärlek".