Hjalmar Gullberg

Hjalmar Gullberg
Hjalmar Gullberg at his writing desk in the early 1940s.
Hjalmar Gullberg at his writing desk in the early 1940s.
Born(1898-05-30)30 May 1898
Malmö, Sweden
Died19 July 1961(1961-07-19) (aged 63)
Holmeja, Sweden
Occupationwriter
NationalitySwedish

Hjalmar Gullberg (30 May 1898 – 19 July 1961) was a Swedish poet and translator.

Career

Gullberg was born in Malmö, Scania. As a student at Lund University, he was the editor of the student magazine Lundagård. He was the manager of the Swedish Radio Theatre 1936-1950. In 1940 he was made a member of the Swedish Academy, and he also became an honorary doctor of philosophy at Lund University (1944).

A poem from Gullberg's book Kärlek i tjugonde seklet from 1933, called "Förklädd gud" ("God in disguise"), was set to music by the composer Lars-Erik Larsson in 1940. The resulting lyrical suite has become one of the most well-recognised and best loved pieces of Swedish music for choir and orchestra.[1]

Personal life

Gullberg had been suffering from myasthenia gravis, which resulted during his last few years that he was bound to his bed. He had also been tracheotomized, and was for long periods of time connected to a ventilator. He committed suicide on 19 July 1961 by drowning at Lake Yddingen in Scania.[2]

Bibliography

  • I en främmande stad (1927)
  • Sonat (1929)
  • Andliga övningar (1932)
  • Kärlek i tjugonde seklet (1933)
  • Ensamstående bildad herre. Tragicomic verse. (1935)
  • Att övervinna världen (1937)
  • 100 dikter; a selection from six volumes of verse (1939)
  • Röster från Skansen (1941)
  • Fem kornbröd och två fiskar (1942; includes Död amazon)
  • Hymn till ett evakuerat Nationalmuseum (1942)
  • Den heliga natten (1951)
  • Dödsmask och lustgård (1952)
  • Terziner i okonstens tid (1958)
  • Ögon, läppar (1959)
  • 50 dikter; a selection from three volumes of verse with an introduction by Carl Fehrman (1961)
  • Gentleman, Single, Refined and selected poems, 1937 - 1959 by Hjalmar Gullberg and Judith Moffett. Louisiana State University Press, 1979.
  • En anständig och ömklig comoedia. A play in three acts by Hjalmar Gullberg and Olle Holmberg (published 1984)
  • Kärleksdikter (first edition with this title published 1967)
  • Dikter. With an epilogue by Anders Palm (1985)

Selected translations and interpretations of other writers' work

References

  1. ^ "Förklädd gud med Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  2. ^ Olofsson, Tommy (15 July 2011). "Det finns en sjö och sedan aldrig mer". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 April 2017.
Cultural offices
Preceded by Swedish Academy,
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