Poet. He was a Swedish poet who was the pioneer that liberated the traditional verse from a common pattern by adding humor and free verse. In many ways he was an outsider, a fact that often marked his writing with critics referring to him as deranged. Shortly after his birth, his mother was hospitalized for mental illness and did not recognize him for years. After attending local schools, he studied at Uppsala University from 1880 to 1885 in broken intervals yet was not able to earn a degree. After college, he worked for a time as a journalist in Karlstad. He fought mental illness and alcoholism all his life and was repeatedly hospitalized for long stays. While he was an inpatient, he wrote his collections of poems and was an eminent translator of Burns, Byron, Goethe, and Heine into the Swedish language. In 1891, he published his first collection of poems, "Guitar and Concertina." This was followed by "New Poems" in 1894 and "Splashes and Spray" in 1896. In "Splashes of Grail," he wrote, "I bought my love for money, for nothing else was to get. Sing beautifully, grating strings, sing beautifully of love once more yet." The "Splashes and Spray" collection was called erotic by critics, and he was taken to court with an ordeal but acquitted of any charges. Several of his poems have become lyrics for songs. His last collection of poems, "Reconvalescentia," was not finished and published posthumously in 1913. In the 20th century, his poems were collected, translated into English, and published. Despite his own will, he was celebrated as a national poet upon his death.
Poet. He was a Swedish poet who was the pioneer that liberated the traditional verse from a common pattern by adding humor and free verse. In many ways he was an outsider, a fact that often marked his writing with critics referring to him as deranged. Shortly after his birth, his mother was hospitalized for mental illness and did not recognize him for years. After attending local schools, he studied at Uppsala University from 1880 to 1885 in broken intervals yet was not able to earn a degree. After college, he worked for a time as a journalist in Karlstad. He fought mental illness and alcoholism all his life and was repeatedly hospitalized for long stays. While he was an inpatient, he wrote his collections of poems and was an eminent translator of Burns, Byron, Goethe, and Heine into the Swedish language. In 1891, he published his first collection of poems, "Guitar and Concertina." This was followed by "New Poems" in 1894 and "Splashes and Spray" in 1896. In "Splashes of Grail," he wrote, "I bought my love for money, for nothing else was to get. Sing beautifully, grating strings, sing beautifully of love once more yet." The "Splashes and Spray" collection was called erotic by critics, and he was taken to court with an ordeal but acquitted of any charges. Several of his poems have become lyrics for songs. His last collection of poems, "Reconvalescentia," was not finished and published posthumously in 1913. In the 20th century, his poems were collected, translated into English, and published. Despite his own will, he was celebrated as a national poet upon his death.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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