People like Lars Gustafsson

Lars Erik Einar Gustavsson (17 May 1936 – 3 April 2016) was a Swedish poet, novelist, and scholar.

Gustafsson was born in Västerås, completed his secondary education at the Västerås Gymnasium and continued to Uppsala University, where he studied literature, aesthetics, sociology and philosophy. In 1960, he received a licentiate degree in philosophy. In 1978, he was awarded a PhD in theoretical philosophy with a dissertation on speech and literature. He later served for four years on the university's board of regents (1994-1998).

Already by 1960 Gustafsson was publishing novels and poetry regularly. In addition to his literary work, he was editor-in-chief of the renowned literary journal Bonniers Litterära Magasin from 1962 to 1972 . He soon established international contacts, notably to the German authors in Group 47. In 1972, through a DAAD fellowship he came to West Berlin, where he lived for two years. During this period, he also traveled extensively, among other places to Australia, Singapore, Japan, Israel, and the United States. Throughout his career, he attended and participated in many international academic and cultural events. John Updike described Gustafsson as "the enviably ideal conferee, a red-bearded fish never out of water, loving books, ideas, and discourse equally, and everywhere adept."