Fyrtiotalism

Fyrtiotalism ("Forties-ism", referring to the 1940s) is the name of a literary movement in Swedish literature. The writers were not a united group, but represented a new generation of literature with a modernist tendency. Their work, influenced by writers such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Franz Kafka, T. S. Eliot and the events during World War II, marked the breakthrough and establishment of Modernist Swedish literature.

Leading representatives of the movement were Erik Lindegren and Karl Vennberg. Other prominent representatives were Stig Dagerman, the poet Werner Aspenström, novelist Lars Ahlin and critic Lennart Göthberg. The magazine 40-tal (1944-1947) was a central forum for the authors to publish their ideas in articles, essays and literary contributions.