The majority of all fictional writing is eventually forgotten by history. Only a few works and authorships become immortal. Why is that? What is it that generates and inhibits literary value? These are questions that Anna Forssberg and Anna Linzie try to answer in their research.
Anna Forssberg is a docent in Comparative Literature and Anna Linzie is a senior lecturer in English at Karlstad University. Both of them are members of the research group for cultural studies, Kufo, and have been conducting research together since 2020.
"The purpose of our research is to explore literary historical events during the 20th century through comparative studies of how literature is valued in Sweden and the US," says Anna Linzie. "We look at how and why literary value has fluctuated and, in the end, basically faded away for eight award-winning authors. These authors include Marika Stiernstedt, Sigfrid Siwertz, Emilia Fogelklou, Gustaf Hellström, Zona Gale, Julia Peterkin, Ellen Glasgow and Marjorie Rawlings."
Through comparative case studies of Swedish-American 'author pairs', the researchers hope to identify value-related actions and events that have affected the life cycle of the authorships, as well as common features in the valuation processes in Swedish and American contexts, and culturally specific valuation aspects that can be discerned through comparative close readings from a literary historical perspective.
The findings of two case studies have already been published; “Vilda pojkar, värde och varaktighet. Litterärt värde och värdering i fallen Sigfrid Siwertz Mälarpirater och Marjorie Rawlings The Yearling” in the journal Tidskrift för Litteraturvetenskap, and “‘An age that is slipping out and an age that is hastening in’: Värdet av skönlitterär sociologisk analys i Gustaf Hellströms Snörmakare Lekholm får en idé och Ellen Glasgows In This Our Life” published in Samlaren.
Focus on autobiographical writing and the self
At the moment, their research is focused on autobiographies. In their upcoming book, the researchers compare Gustaf Hellström’s autobiographical novel suite in seven parts about Stellan Petreus (1921–1952) with Ellen Glasgow’s autobiography The Woman Within (1954) and collection of critical paratexts, A Certain Measure (1943).
"Autobiographies sells in large quantities and has great value today," says Anna Forssberg. "We’re interested in old autobiographies and what can be learned from them and brought into the present. They open up a window to a certain time in history and its literary history."
What are you hoping your research will contribute with?
"Our most significant research contribution will be new knowledge about the valuation of more or less forgotten Swedish and American authorships, new knowledge about cultural specificity in terms of what is seen as having value, and new knowledge about literary historical events beyond the most prevalent periodisation," says Anna Linzie. "Our collaboration is incredibly productive and it’s a great pleasure to work together – we co-write and work so well together!"
Want to lead the way for a third wave of research in the field
On 18–19 April, the researchers are organising a research symposium on the theme of literary values, where ongoing research in the field is presented and discussed with researchers from all over the country.
"Discussing literary value hasn’t always been easy," says Anna Forssberg. "Literary value and values were established as a research field in Sweden in the early 2000s. In 2014, there was a new wave of interest where the research field grew once again and now we have invited interested researchers to take the step into a third wave of research in the field."
