E. Lindegren’s Anthology “mannen utan väg” in the Context of the Modernist Poetic Tradition. Article Two: The Role of the Anthology in the Debates about Modernism in Sweden in the 1940s

A series of two articles is devoted to the poetics of a key work of Swedish fyrtiotalism – Erik Lindegren's anthology “man without a road” (“mannen utan väg”, 1942) – and its role in the development of the modernist poetic tradition. This anthology has not been studied in Russian literary criticism. The first article examines the influence of early 20th century poetry on the work of E. Lindegren, the second – the role of “mannen utan väg”, as well as Lindegren’s critical articles in the discussion in Sweden in the 1940s about the essence of modernism. This article examines the context of the “debate on incomprehensibility” (“obegriplighetsdebatten”), which started after the re-publication of the collection in 1946. The connection of Lindegren’s poetry with the parallel “debate on pessimism” (“pessimismdebatten”) is also touched upon. The article examines in detail the controversy between Erik Lindegren and the conservative critic Sten Selander, which became central to the discussion of modern poetry at the time. Particular attention is paid to the role of the periodical press as a platform for literary discussions, with key participants including Karl Wennberg, Stig Dagerman, Axel Liffner and others. The article analyzes the essays published in leading newspapers and magazines of the period, such as Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Bonniers Litterära Magazine and others that shaped public opinion about the new poetry. The article reveals how Lindegren’s anthology became a catalyst for a broad discussion about the essence of modernist poetry, its complexity and ability to reflect contemporary reality. The article identifies the theoretical foundations of modernism found by Lindegren and other critics who discussed the legacy of classicism, symbolism, psychoanalysis and Marxist dialectics. The study concludes that Erik Lindegren has made a significant contribution to the establishment of modernism as part of the Swedish literary canon. His critical writings, editorial work and translations of foreign authors contributed to the creation of a cultural context that made it possible to integrate international modernist traditions into local literature. Particular emphasis is placed on how the anthology “mannen utan väg” influenced the formation of a new poetic language that was adopted by subsequent generations of authors, including, for example, Tomas Tranströmer.