Margareta Garpe grew up in Stockholm, graduated from the Journalisthögskolan (journalism college) in 1969, after which she was recruited by the newspaper Aftonbladet, where she worked until 1972. Margareta Garpe, who is now a director and playwright, played a central role in the socially critical and feminist drama that burgeoned in the early 1970s. Together with Susanne Osten she created a series of remarkable plays such as Tjejsnack, 1971, Kärleksföreställningen, 1973, and Jösses flickor, 1974, the last two being published in 1977. In the 1980s and 1990s, she evolved into a major playwright, with works such as Barnet, Prövningen, Till Julia, and Alla dessa dagar, alla dessa natter, 1992, in which she examines the same problems, but more deeply, and makes the aesthetics of her drama more complex.
Additions by the editorial team 2011:
The above biography was first published in 1998. Since then, Margareta Garpe has written the stage plays Hannas midsommar, Limbo, Älskar dej också and Vi som älskade Florian. She has also written and directed for television, including Henrik Ibsens Gengangerne and Hedda Gabler as well as the television series Skilda världer.
Garpe is the recipient of De Nios Vinterpris 1997 and Litteris et Artibus 2007. She has served on the board of the Swedish Film Institute and the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, and has been the president of the Writers Guild of Sweden.
