Sara Danius

Sara Maria Danius (5 April 1962 – 12 October 2019) was a Swedish literary critic, philosopher, and scholar of literature and aesthetics. Danius was professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University, docent of literature at Uppsala University and professor in literary science at Stockholm University. She was the oldest of nine full and half siblings. She went to Åva gymnasium in Täby, where she studied natural science. She played basketball in Elitserien, the highest league in Sweden, and continued to play on a recreational level throughout her life. In 1981–82, she worked as a certified croupier and dealer at casinos in Stockholm. In 2004–2005, Danius was a Fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in Uppsala, Sweden as part of the Pro Futura Scientia Program. She published on the relationship between literature and society and wrote about Marcel Proust, Gustave Flaubert, and James Joyce.

Career Danius was a literary critic for the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter from 1986. and in 2013 became professor in literary science at Stockholm University.

She played a central role in awarding the literature Nobel to Bob Dylan. This was the second time a songwriter won the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first since Rabindranath Tagore won it in 1913. The award caused some controversy, particularly among writers arguing that the literary merits of Dylan's work are not equal to those of some of his peers.

She was asked to resign from her position and left the academy on 12 April 2018, against the background of critique over the academy's handling of the Me Too-related Jean-Claude Arnault scandal. The scandal evolved into the 2018 controversies resulting in the cancellation of the Nobel Prize in Literature that year and the following restructuring of the academy.

Two former permanent secretaries, Sture Allén and Horace Engdahl, called Danius a weak leader in her handling of the affair. On 26 February 2019 she resigned from her seat at the Swedish Academy. Her move came after several academy members tried to sweep the scandal under the rug, prompting the resignation of three academy members "in disgust."

Personal life Danius was interested in fashion. At the Nobel Banquets she wore specially designed dresses by Pär Engsheden and inspired by three authors she admired: Marcel Proust, Honoré de Balzac and Virginia Woolf. Her signature garment, a pussy bow blouse, became a symbol to wear for those who supported her during the Swedish Academy crisis.

From 1989 to 2010, she was married to author Stefan Jonsson. They had a son named Leo.