| Aniara | |
|---|---|
| by Harry Martinson | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication date | 13 October 1956[1][2] |
Aniara (Swedish: Aniara: en revy om människan i tid och rum[3]) is a book-length epic science fiction poem written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson from 1953 to 1956. It narrates the tragedy of a large passenger spacecraft carrying a cargo of colonists escaping destruction on Earth veering off course, leaving the Solar System and entering into an existential struggle. The style is symbolic, sweeping and innovative for its time, with creative use of neologisms to suggest the science fictional setting. It was published in its final form on 13 October 1956.
Aniara has been translated to around twenty languages. It was adapted into an opera in 1959 and a Swedish feature film in 2018.
Aniara, published in October 1956, was met with public interest and enthusiasm from literary critics and readers. The work was praised for its lyrical storytelling, profound thought, and its portrayal of human greatness turning into humiliation and powerlessness. Aniara has influenced other works of science fiction, such as Tau Zero (1970) by Poul Anderson and A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) by Vernor Vinge. The poem has become a landmark literary work and is often used as the basis for planetarium shows in Sweden. In 2019, the extrasolar planet HD 102956 b was named after Isagel, a character from the story, and its star was named Aniara.