Ester Blenda Nordström

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Ester Blenda Nordström around 1930

Ester Blenda Elisabet Nordström (born March 31, 1891 in Stockholm ; † October 15, 1948 there ) was a Swedish journalist and writer . She was one of the first journalists to use the methods of investigative journalism . She became known in 1914 after working as a maid for a month and publishing a report about her experiences.

Life and accomplishments

Ester Blenda Nordström worked from 1911 to 1917 as a journalist (under the pseudonym Bansai) at Svenska Dagbladet . In 1914 she took a job as a maid in a farm in Södermanland and reported on her experiences in the multi-part report En månad som tjänsteflicka på en gård i Södermanland ("A month as a maid on a farm in Södermanland"). She also documented her experiences in a book, En piga bland pigor (“A maid among maidservant ” ), which was a great success, published in several editions and filmed in 1924.

Nordström also worked as an investigative journalist in other areas. She was a teacher in Sapmi in northern Sweden for one summer and lived in a Sami community. In 1922 she traveled to New York City as a third class passenger and worked as a waitress and kitchen helper. She later hitchhiked around the United States . Their experiences were published in the book Amerikanskt ("American").

From 1925 to 1929 Nordström was married to the entomologist René Malaise and together with him explored the Kamchatka in what was then the Soviet Union . They lived in a village for two years; Nordström wrote the book Byn i volkanens skugga ("The village in the shadow of the volcano").

Ester Blenda Nordström was presumably a lesbian (which was a criminal offense at the time and was considered an illness) and was in a relationship with Carin Frisell all her life.

Nordström was also a pioneer as a children's book author . The main character Ann-Mari Lindelöf is reminiscent of Nordström himself, among other things through her social commitment. The books describe the development of the young girl towards independence, instead of a life aiming at marriage, as was otherwise customary. The books were translated into German by Birgitta Kicherer .

literature

  • Fatima Bremmer: Ett jävla solsken: En biografi om Ester Blenda Nordström . Forum förlag, 2017, ISBN 978-91-37-14374-3 (Swedish).
  • Eva Wahlström: Fria flickor före Pippi: Ester Blenda Nordström and Karin Michaëlis - Astrid Lindgrens föregångare . In: Skrifter utgivna av Svenska barnboksinstitutet . tape 114 . Makadam, 2011, ISBN 978-91-7061-094-3 , ISSN  0347-5387 (Swedish).
  • Margareta Stål: Signatures Bansai: Ester Blenda Nordström - pennskaft och reporter i det tidiga 1900-talet . In: Göteborgsstudier i journalistik och masskommunikation . tape 29 . Institutions för journalistik och masskommunikation, 2002, ISBN 91-88212-47-5 , ISSN  1101-4652 (Swedish).

Web links

Commons : Ester Blenda Nordström  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alla bör känna till Ester Blenda Nordström . ( feministisktperspektiv.se [accessed April 14, 2018]).
  2. ↑ a b c d Ester Blenda Nordström. Retrieved April 14, 2018 (Swedish).
  3. ↑ "Jag hoppas att Ester Blenda can bli både en feministisk förebild och en gayikon." In: Sydsvenskan . ( sydsvenskan.se [accessed April 14, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Hon ger Sveriges första undersökande journalist en plats i solen - äntligen! In: SelmaStories . ( selmastories.se [accessed April 14, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Nordström, Ester Blenda
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nordström, Ester Blenda Elisabet (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish journalist and writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockholm
DATE OF DEATH October 15, 1948
Place of death Stockholm