Jonas Bengt Svensson (1970) is a poet and artist living in Malmö, Sweden. He studied creative writing for two years in the late 90’s, and was one of the editors of a literary magazine called Serum. For a couple of years he also ran a small independent publishing house. His first book was published in 2006, a collection of chronicles about being a fan of local football club Malmö FF. Since then he has published five books of poetry and contributed to several anthologies. In 2023 he was granted a one-year schoolarship from The Swedish Author’s Foundation.
He began drawing as late as in 2015, starting out with the cynical and angry cartoon character Batongen (”The Blackjack”). He then went on to draw and interpret various buildings in his home town. He soon developed a minimalistic strict style with thin lines, but always some lop-sided parts or skewered perspectives, keeping the drawings alive and personal. He has had a couple of exhibitions, and also made illustrations for a book of poems by Joakim Becker. His drawings of buildings in Malmö has appeared in an article on architecture in a local magazine, and he also contributed with illustrations for an anthology about Swedish author Fritiof Nilsson Piraten.
Published work in English:
Documentation art project: Waiting for the flood (Litteraturcentrum kvu 2023)
Illustrations in When the barbedwire slipped in by Joakim Becker (Three Throuted Press 2019)
Comics in anthology AltCom: How to survive a dictatorship (C’est Bon/Tusen serier 2018)
Comics in anthology AltCom: Work (C’est Bon/Tusen serier 2016)
Poetry in anthology Over Yonder (Rufous Press 2012)
Poetry in anthology Towers of Babel/Türme babylon (Romiosini Verlag 2004)
Audiopoem: ”Last Night Train” (Poetic Phonotheque 2020)