Katarina Frostenson


Alma Katarina Frostenson Arnault is a Swedish poet and writer. She was elected a member of the Swedish Academy in 1992. In 2003, Frostenson was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in recognition of her services to literature.
She was born in Stockholm. Her parents were Georg Frostenson and Anna-Britta Elmdahl. Her uncle Anders Frostenson was married to politician Ulla Lidman-Frostenson, who was Susanna Ramel's elder maternal half-sister.
Katarina Frostenson is married to Jean-Claude Arnault.
Frostenson is one of Sweden's foremost poets, of a style both experimental and archaic. She is the author of I mellan, I det gula and Joner, and has also written a book of lyrical prose named Berättelser från dom, about an ancient people who, through the loss of language, lose their sense of belonging in the world.
Her many honors include the Great Prize of the Society of Nine, the Bellman Prize, the Swedish Radio Prize for Lyrical Poetry, the Erik Lindegren Prize, the Ekelöf Prize, the Nordic Council Literature Prize and the Litteris et Artibus medal.
Frostenson and her husband Arnault ran a venue for showcasing art in Stockholm called Forum. The club received funding from the Swedish Academy, which sparked allegations of conflicts of interest. Thus in 2018, Frostenson was accused of corruption contemporaneous with the accusations of sexual assault and corruption leveled against Arnault. The Academy ultimately decided against expelling Frostenson, which prompted the resignation of three academy members. Frostenson protested that she should not be punished for the wrongdoings of her husband. Nevertheless she did ultimately and voluntarily withdraw from the academy receiving a lifelong compensation of 12,875 Swedish kronor per month and the right to continue to live in an apartment owned by the Academy.

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