Martin Allwood

Martin Samuel Allwood (13 April 1916 – 16 January 1999) was a Swedish language educator, writer, sociologist, translator and professor. He was the father of professors Jens Allwood and Carl Martin Allwood.

Biography Martin Allwood came from an international background, something which came full circle to characterize his cosmopolite's life.

He was born in Jönköping, the only child of the English school activist Charles Allwood, who, in his extracurricular activities at the School Board as its consultant in English, dabbled into radio, and went on to become a radio teaching pioneer at the then fledgling AB Radiotjänst. Allwood's mother was of nobility: the Finnish-Swedish Baroness Aina, née Åkerhielm.

Starting in the late 1940s, he served as a professor of sociology and literature at several American universities until he was diagnosed with cancer in 1967 and he returned to Sweden. His six-year battle to overcome the disease is described in I Carried Death in my Body (1976) – a serious criticism of the health care system's shortcomings – which was translated into 13 languages.

He was a productive author in Swedish and English (as well as several minor publications in German and French), and has had works translated into several other languages. Allwood was also a productive translator.

Sample translation Here is a sample of Martin Samuel Allwood's translation of the poet Gunvor Hofmo's poem "Illusion":

Works Source

Modern Scandinavian poetry Scandinavian songs and ballads: Modern Swedish, Danish and Norwegian songs Jag minns det vackra Mullsjö : 230 konstnärer och en ort i deras liv Basic Swedish Word List 20th Century Scandinavian Poetry: The Development of Poetry in Iceland Katedralernas kyrkogård : fria dikter Engelska vokabler och idiom med viktigare amerikanska varianter Den västerländska civilisationens rötter : en läsebok för dem som Livets träd : sex, kärlek och personligheten i det samtida medvetandet Essays: On contemporary civilization More snapshots of more or less famous people English and American songs Bildande konst : dikter = Liberal arts : poems Splittring och enhet : dikter Amerika-Svensk Lyrik genom 100 ar Ryska kulturmönster : kulturmönster, sexualitet och personlighet Odelbar värld : dikter Love Must Speak Automaten blöder : noveller A new English anthology : with biographical notes in English Valda svenska dikter. D. 2, 1965–1986 Indien : en kort framställning av land, folk, näringsliv Läsare bedömer litteratur

Personal life Allwood was married seven times — most recently to the Colombian-born artist and potter Enelia Paz Gómez.