Leon Larson

Leon Larson

Leon Larson (1883—1922), sometimes written Larsson, was a Swedish anarchist and political poet, born in Skutskär.

Leon Larson’s fascination with fire is very prominent in all of his writings. As a 15-year-old, he was even sentenced to penal labor for arson after burning down the blacksmith where he worked in Midsummer 1899.

In the early 1900s, Larson was active in various anarchist groups, but in 1907 he broke with anarchism and joined the Social Democratic Youth Organization.

In 1909 Larson published the autobiographical novel Samhällets fiende ("Enemy of the State"), in which he dealt with his anarchist past. The book was the beginning of the end for Larson’s career as a writer, however, as he had by then lost many of his original followers.