Barbro Alving
Encyclopedia
Barbro Alving was a Swedish
journalist and writer, a pacifist and feminist. She is widely known for writing under her pseudonym
Bang. She wrote for, among others, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter
and the magazines Idun
and Vecko-Journalen
. She reported from various scenes during the Spanish Civil War
, World War II
and the Cold War
.
Alving was born in Uppsala
, the daughter of Fanny Alving and Hjalmar Alving. Her father was a teacher of Nordic literature and her mother was a writer. She later moved with her family to Stockholm. Alving never married, but she had a daughter Maud Fanny Alving with illustrator and artist Birger Lundquist in 1938. Maud, better known as Ruffa Alving-Olin, is herself a journalist, and has collected and published letters, notes and other materials after Barbro Alving's death. Alving began living with Anna Laura Sjöcrona when her daughter Ruffa was only one year old, forming "a different kind of family", in her daughter's words. Alving and Sjöcrona lived together for over 40 years, until Alving's death.
She was editorial secretary of Idun from 1928 to 1931, and then a journalist at Dagens Nyheter from 1934 to 1959. She reported from the 1936 Olympic Games
in Berlin
, from the Spanish Civil War
, and the Winter War
in Finland in 1939-40, from Norway in 1940
, and Hungary in 1956. As a foreign correspondent
, she reported from the United States, Vietnam, Africa and the Far East over a number of years.
She became a pacifist, and converted to Catholic
ism in 1959. She supported the campaign in the 1950s to prevent Sweden acquiring nuclear weapon
. Because of her convictions, she left Dagens Nyheter, whose editor-in-chief was positive to a Swedish nuclear defense, and started working at Vecko-Journalen instead. She refused to participate in civil defense, and was jailed for one month. She wrote of her period in prison in her 1956 book Dagbok från Långholmen (Diary of Långholmen
) (1956).
She was inspired as a journalist, feminist and pacifist by Elin Wägner
. She collected biographical material after Wagner's death in 1949, which later became a biography written by Ulla Isaksson and Erik Hjalmar Linder.
She wrote numerous books, some under the pseudonym "Käringen mot strömmen" ("old woman against the current", alluding to a 12th century Swedish proverb). She wrote several screenplays, and was awarded the Nios Grand Prize in 1975. The feminist magazine Bang
is named after her.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
journalist and writer, a pacifist and feminist. She is widely known for writing under her pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Bang. She wrote for, among others, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
and the magazines Idun
Idun (magazine)
Idun was a Swedish magazine founded by Frithiof Hellberg and named after the goddess Idun, who appears with her basket of apples on its masthead. It was published in 1887-1963. The paper focused on literature and gender equality....
and Vecko-Journalen
Vecko-Journalen
Vecko-Journalen was a Swedish magazine published from 1910 to 2002. It was founded by Erik Åkerlund, who established the publishing company Åhlén & Åkerlunds in 1906....
. She reported from various scenes during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Alving was born in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, the daughter of Fanny Alving and Hjalmar Alving. Her father was a teacher of Nordic literature and her mother was a writer. She later moved with her family to Stockholm. Alving never married, but she had a daughter Maud Fanny Alving with illustrator and artist Birger Lundquist in 1938. Maud, better known as Ruffa Alving-Olin, is herself a journalist, and has collected and published letters, notes and other materials after Barbro Alving's death. Alving began living with Anna Laura Sjöcrona when her daughter Ruffa was only one year old, forming "a different kind of family", in her daughter's words. Alving and Sjöcrona lived together for over 40 years, until Alving's death.
She was editorial secretary of Idun from 1928 to 1931, and then a journalist at Dagens Nyheter from 1934 to 1959. She reported from the 1936 Olympic Games
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, from the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, and the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
in Finland in 1939-40, from Norway in 1940
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
, and Hungary in 1956. As a foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
, she reported from the United States, Vietnam, Africa and the Far East over a number of years.
She became a pacifist, and converted to Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
ism in 1959. She supported the campaign in the 1950s to prevent Sweden acquiring nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
. Because of her convictions, she left Dagens Nyheter, whose editor-in-chief was positive to a Swedish nuclear defense, and started working at Vecko-Journalen instead. She refused to participate in civil defense, and was jailed for one month. She wrote of her period in prison in her 1956 book Dagbok från Långholmen (Diary of Långholmen
Långholmen prison
Långholmen Prison, officially Långholmen Central Prison , was historically one of the biggest prison facilities in Sweden with more than 500 cells, located on the island of Långholmen in Stockholm. It was built 1874-1880 as the central prison of Sweden, and was in use until 1975...
) (1956).
She was inspired as a journalist, feminist and pacifist by Elin Wägner
Elin Wägner
Elin Matilda Elisabet Wägner was a Swedish writer, journalist, feminist, teacher, ecologist and pacifist. She was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1944.- Biography :...
. She collected biographical material after Wagner's death in 1949, which later became a biography written by Ulla Isaksson and Erik Hjalmar Linder.
She wrote numerous books, some under the pseudonym "Käringen mot strömmen" ("old woman against the current", alluding to a 12th century Swedish proverb). She wrote several screenplays, and was awarded the Nios Grand Prize in 1975. The feminist magazine Bang
Bang (magazine)
Bang is a Swedish feminist culture magazine. It was started in 1991 by students at Stockholm University. The current editors in chief are Trifa Shakely and Johanna Palmström. The magazine is named after Barbro Alving, whose signature was "Bang". There are four issues per year with a circulation of...
is named after her.
Further information
- "Bang och världshistorien", 2008 film about Barbro Alving as a war correspondent by Maj Wechselmann. In Swedish. Shown on Sveriges TelevisionSveriges TelevisionSveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
program K Special on 30 December 2008 and 4 January 2009.