Margit Abenius

Margareta Ulrika Abenius (14 July 1899 – 3 August 1970) was a Swedish literary critic, researcher, author, translator, and essayist. One of the leading voices of the Swedish literary canon in the 20th century, Abenius is best known for her biography of fellow Swedish poet Karin Boye.

Life Margit Abenius was born to a middle-class family in Orsa, Sweden, on 14 July 1899. Her father Wilhelm Abenius was a lecturer in chemistry, secondary-school teacher, and author, and her mother Maria Abenius came from a priest family in Västmanland. Abenius had three younger siblings: Håkan, Sigurd, and Ingrid. During her time in Örebro, Abenius attended the Risbergska skolan. Growing up in a literary faction, Abenius developed an early interest in reading, poetry, folk-lore, and story-telling. Abenius's early education included lessons from the theologian and psalm composer Emil Liedgren who inspired her. Abenius discovered her love for stylistics during her high-school when she took Swedish and English courses. Her professor of Nordic languages, Bengt Hesselman encouraged her to research on stylistics, and she published articles on Nysvenska in the following years. Kontakter established her status as one of the leading voices of the Swedish literary era. In the 1950s, Abenius began introducing French philosopher Simone Weil to Swedish readers. She translated many of Weil's works into Swedish, including La Pesanteur et la grâce; she and Karin Stolpe published a collection of Weil's letters and essays Personen och det heliga. Essäer och brev in 1961. The biography was well-received upon first publication.

Later years Abenius served as a member of the Swedish literary society, Samfundet De Nio. She published her autobiography Memoarer från det inre in 1963 to positive reception. In 1965, she was honoured with a Birger-Sjöberg award for her contributions. Abenius died in Uppsala, on 3 August 1970.