Nikanor Teratologen

Nikanor Teratologen ("Nikanor the teratologist"), real name Niclas Lundkvist, born 27 October 1964 in Kåge, Västerbotten, is a Swedish novelist, essayist, translator and literary critic. His 1992 debut novel Assisted Living received considerable publicity in Sweden for its transgressive content and advanced use of language, which created a literary scandal and led to speculation about its author.

Nikanor Teratologen
BornNiclas Lundkvist
(1964-10-27) 27 October 1964
Kåge, Västerbotten, Sweden
OccupationNovelist, essayist, translator and literary critic
LanguageSwedish
NationalitySwede
Period1992–

Career

Nikanor Teratologen debuted in 1992 with the novel Assisted Living (Äldreomsorgen i Övre Kågedalen, lit. "the elderly care in Upper Kåge Valley"), written in a northern Westrobothnian dialect and full of transgressive content such as pedophilia, incest, necrophilia, antisemitism, cannibalism and strong violence. The book was published through the major publisher Norstedts förlag and created a scandal. Due to the advanced use of language, several critics were convinced that the book was written by an established novelist from Västerbotten, and people such as Stig Larsson, Per Olov Enquist and Torgny Lindgren were mentioned as suspects. Eventually a journalist was able to identify the real author, which was followed by further rumours and speculation about Teratologen's interests and personality. The book eventually received cult status and had become a commercial success by the mid 2000s.[1] It was published in English in 2012 through Dalkey Archive Press.[2]

A sequel to Assisted Living, Förensligandet i det egentliga Västerbotten, was published in 1998. Teratologen has since published three additional books: Apsefiston (2002), Hebbershålsapokryferna (2002) and Att hata allt mänskligt liv (2009). He has described the poet Comte de Lautréamont as his "great precursor", and has also mentioned Friedrich Nietzsche as a major influence.[3][4]

He has translated works by Nietzsche and Emil Cioran into Swedish.[5] In 2010 he received the award Beskowska resestipendiet from the Swedish Academy.[6]

Bibliography
  • Assisted Living (Äldreomsorgen i Övre Kågedalen) (1992)
  • Förensligandet i det egentliga Västerbotten (1998)
  • Apsefiston (2002)
  • Hebbershålsapokryferna (2002)
  • Att hata allt mänskligt liv (2009)

References
  1. Liljestrand, Jens (19 August 2012). "Vidrig klassiker". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. "Assisted living : a novel". WorldCat. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. Andersson, Jonas (11 October 2008). "Brännande språk i en absurd värld". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 August 2015. store föregångare
  4. Teratologen, Nikanor (9 July 2012). "Omöjliga intervjuer. Nikanor Teratologen intervjuar Archilochos". Tidningen Kulturen (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 August 2015. Alt URL
  5. Räihä, Freke (2 July 2012). "Dagar i ljus och frihet – Intervju med Nikanor Teratologen". Tidningen Kulturen (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  6. Schueler, Kaj (23 April 2010). "Teratologen tillbaka i finrummet". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 August 2015.
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