Gunnar Ekelöf has been called Sweden's first surrealist poet. He made his debut with the collection sent på jorden ("late on earth") in 1932, written during an extended stay in Paris in 1929–1930, which was too unconventional to become widely appreciated and described by its author as capturing a period of suicidal thoughts and apocalyptic moods.[1] It was in a sense an act of literary revolt akin to Edith Södergran's Septemberlyran of a dozen years earlier. While not disavowing his debut, Ekelöf moved towards romanticism and received better reviews for his second poetry collection, Dedikation (1934). Both the volumes are influenced by surrealism and show a violent, at times feverish torrent of images, deliberate breakdown of ordered syntax and traditional poetic language and a defiant spirit bordering on anarchism ("cut your belly cut your belly and don't think of any tomorrow" runs the black humorous refrain of a poem called "fanfare" in sent på jorden; a collection that eschews capital letters). This defiant externalism was grounded in his person. Though he came from an upper-class background, Ekelöf had never felt committed to it – his father had been mentally ill and when his mother remarried, Ekelöf strongly disapproved of his stepfather, and by extension of his mother; he had become a loner and a rebel by his teens and would never feel at ease with the mores of the established upper and middle classes or with their inhibitions and what he perceived as their hypocrisy and back-scratching.[2] Swedish critic Anders Olsson described Ekelöf's turn to poetry as a choice of "the only utterance that doesn't expurge the contradictions and empty spaces of language and of the mind."[3]
Färjesång (1941), showed influence from T.S. Eliot, whose poem East Coker Ekelöf had translated to Swedish. It took influence from oriental poetry and the darkness of the ongoing Second World War.[4] This was followed by the acclaimed works,[5] the prose book Promenader (1941, "Walks"), the disillusioned[4]Non Serviam (1945) (its Latin title meaning "I will not serve") and Om hösten (1951, "In autumn"). This last included the well-known[4] poem "Röster under jorden" ("Underground voices").[4] In Strountes (1955), from Swedish "strunt" ("nonsense"), Ekelöf returned to his attacks on literary conventions, exploring meaninglessness. With his continual wordplay, he demonstrated that meaning can emerge from apparent nonsense.[4]
In April 1958, Ekelöf was elected a member of the Swedish Academy, succeeding author Bertil Malmberg on chair 18 in December the same year.[6]En Mölna-elegi ("A Mölna Elegy", 1960), a lengthy elegy Ekelöf had already begun composing in the 1930s, was a highly personal collection of free associations, moods and memories featuring intertextual references to Emanuel Swedenborg, Carl Michael Bellman, August Strindberg, Edith Södergran, and others. The poems deal with the Proustian theme of memory and has been called Ekelöf's most Joycean work.[4] On its publication, the book received strongly positive reviews by contemporary critics.[7]
Ekelöf's last works, Dīwān över Fursten av Emgión (1965, ``Diwan on the Prince of Emgion``), Sagan om Fatumeh (1966, "The Tale of Fatumeh") and Vägvisare till underjorden (1967, "Guide to the Underworld") was a trilogy with Byzantine theme.[4] The trilogy was inspired by journey to Istanbul and Izmir in 1965 that resulted in an outburst of creativity. In his diary, Ekelöf described the visit as a revelation that would change his life. Dīwān över Fursten av Emgión tells the story of the fictive Prince of Emgión who participated in the Battle of Manzikert, was captured, tortured and blinded, and then jailed in Constantinople for ten years. On his way home, the Prince is accompanied by a mysterious woman, assisting him in his blindness.[8] For this book, Ekelöf was awarded the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1966.[9]
Ekelöf died on 16 March 1968. According to his will, his ashes were scattered in the river Pactolus in Turkey.[10]
LegacyEdit
He is remembered as one of the first Surrealist poets of Sweden.
On the 103rd anniversary of his birth, 40 Swedish poetry enthusiasts gathered in Salihli, Turkey. Together with the deputy mayor, they honored Ekelöf's legacy in the city, which he came to admire ardently on a visit in 1965 and portrayed in several poems. In his will, he expressed his wish to be cremated and his ashes spread over the Sard stream in Salihli. A bust of Ekelöf by Gürdal Duyar was to have been placed there, but this was never done, and it now waits in the garden of the Swedish Embassy in Istanbul.[11][12][13]
Selected bibliographyEdit
In SwedishEdit
Sent på jorden "late on earth", poems (1932) (title in lower case lettering; this is retained in all reprints)
Fransk surrealism "French Surrealism", translations (1933)
Dedikation "Dedication", poems (1934)
Hundra år modern fransk dikt "100 Years of Modern French Poetry", translations (1934)
Sorgen och stjärnan "The Sorrow and the Star", poems (1936)
Köp den blindes sång "Buy the Blind Man's Song", poems (1938)
Sagan om Fatumeh "The Tale of Fatumeh", poems (1966)
Vägvisare till underjorden "Guide to the Underworld", trans. Rika Lesser, poems (1967)
Partitur "Score" (poems and drafts from his final year) (1969)
Lägga patience "Solitaire Game", essays (1969)
En självbiografi "An Autobiography", miscellaneous (1971)
En röst "A Voice", sketches, diary notes, poems (1973)
A collected volume of Ekelöf's poetry, Dikter ("Poems"), was published by Mån Pocket in 1987.
In EnglishEdit
Selected Poems of Gunnar Ekelöf, translated by Muriel Rukeyser and Leif Sjöberg, (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1967)
Late Arrival on Earth: Selected Poems, translated by Robert Bly and Christina Paulston,(London: Rapp & Carroll, 1967)
I Do Best Alone at Night, translated by Robert Bly and Christina Paulston, (Washington: The Charioteer Press, 1968)
Selected Poems, translated by W. H. Auden and Leif Sjöberg, (New York: Pantheon Books, 1971)
Ekelöf made some substantial re-edits of the text and sequence of poems in later collected editions and anthologies of his work, especially relating to his 1930s books.
ReferencesEdit
^Lundkvist, Martinsson, Ekelöf, by Espmark & Olsson, in Delblanc, Lönnroth, Göransson, vol 3
^Carl Olof Sommar Gunnar Ekelöf: en biografi, Albert Bonniers förlag 1989
^A. Olsson, "Ekelöfs nej" (Ekelöf's No), Mälden mellan stenarna, Stockholm 1981; the point is elaborated in his 1983 Ekelöf monograph of the same name.
^Sommar, Carl Olof (1989). Gunnar Ekelöf: en biografi (in Swedish). Albert Bonniers förlag. p. 511.
^Sommar, Carl Olof (1989). Gunnar Ekelöf: en biografi (in Swedish). Albert Bonniers förlag. pp. 559 ff.
^"1966 Gunnar Ekelöf, Sweden: Dīwān över Fursten av Emgión". Nordic Co-operation.
^Carl Olof Sommar Gunnar Ekelöf: en biografi, Albert Bonniers förlag 1989, p.606
^. Kazete. 16 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
^Kayaoglu, Turhan (2 April 1994). "Ekelöf byst i Sardes". dn.kultur. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
^(PDF), Visby: Svenska Forskningsinstitutet i Istanbul & Föreningen Svenska Istanbulinstitutets Vänner, 2014, p. 14, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2018, retrieved 1 September 2017
gunnar, ekelöf, bengt, september, 1907, stockholm, march, 1968, sigtuna, swedish, poet, writer, member, swedish, academy, from, 1958, awarded, honorary, doctorate, philosophy, uppsala, university, 1958, number, prizes, poetry, bornbengt, 1907, september, 1907s. Bengt Gunnar Ekelof 15 September 1907 in Stockholm 16 March 1968 in Sigtuna was a Swedish poet and writer He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1958 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy by Uppsala University in 1958 He won a number of prizes for his poetry Gunnar EkelofGunnar EkelofBornBengt Gunnar Ekelof 1907 09 15 15 September 1907Stockholm SwedenDied16 March 1968 1968 03 16 aged 60 Sigtuna SwedenOccupationPoetNationalitySwedishPeriod1932 1968Literary movementModernism SurrealismNotable worksNon Serviam Diwan on the Prince of EmgionSpouseGunnel Bergstrom 1932 Gunhild Flodquist 1942 1951 Ingrid Flodquist Contents 1 Life and works 2 Legacy 3 Selected bibliography 3 1 In Swedish 3 2 In English 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksLife and works EditGunnar Ekelof has been called Sweden s first surrealist poet He made his debut with the collection sent pa jorden late on earth in 1932 written during an extended stay in Paris in 1929 1930 which was too unconventional to become widely appreciated and described by its author as capturing a period of suicidal thoughts and apocalyptic moods 1 It was in a sense an act of literary revolt akin to Edith Sodergran s Septemberlyran of a dozen years earlier While not disavowing his debut Ekelof moved towards romanticism and received better reviews for his second poetry collection Dedikation 1934 Both the volumes are influenced by surrealism and show a violent at times feverish torrent of images deliberate breakdown of ordered syntax and traditional poetic language and a defiant spirit bordering on anarchism cut your belly cut your belly and don t think of any tomorrow runs the black humorous refrain of a poem called fanfare in sent pa jorden a collection that eschews capital letters This defiant externalism was grounded in his person Though he came from an upper class background Ekelof had never felt committed to it his father had been mentally ill and when his mother remarried Ekelof strongly disapproved of his stepfather and by extension of his mother he had become a loner and a rebel by his teens and would never feel at ease with the mores of the established upper and middle classes or with their inhibitions and what he perceived as their hypocrisy and back scratching 2 Swedish critic Anders Olsson described Ekelof s turn to poetry as a choice of the only utterance that doesn t expurge the contradictions and empty spaces of language and of the mind 3 Farjesang 1941 showed influence from T S Eliot whose poem East Coker Ekelof had translated to Swedish It took influence from oriental poetry and the darkness of the ongoing Second World War 4 This was followed by the acclaimed works 5 the prose book Promenader 1941 Walks the disillusioned 4 Non Serviam 1945 its Latin title meaning I will not serve and Om hosten 1951 In autumn This last included the well known 4 poem Roster under jorden Underground voices 4 In Strountes 1955 from Swedish strunt nonsense Ekelof returned to his attacks on literary conventions exploring meaninglessness With his continual wordplay he demonstrated that meaning can emerge from apparent nonsense 4 In April 1958 Ekelof was elected a member of the Swedish Academy succeeding author Bertil Malmberg on chair 18 in December the same year 6 En Molna elegi A Molna Elegy 1960 a lengthy elegy Ekelof had already begun composing in the 1930s was a highly personal collection of free associations moods and memories featuring intertextual references to Emanuel Swedenborg Carl Michael Bellman August Strindberg Edith Sodergran and others The poems deal with the Proustian theme of memory and has been called Ekelof s most Joycean work 4 On its publication the book received strongly positive reviews by contemporary critics 7 Ekelof s last works Diwan over Fursten av Emgion 1965 Diwan on the Prince of Emgion Sagan om Fatumeh 1966 The Tale of Fatumeh and Vagvisare till underjorden 1967 Guide to the Underworld was a trilogy with Byzantine theme 4 The trilogy was inspired by journey to Istanbul and Izmir in 1965 that resulted in an outburst of creativity In his diary Ekelof described the visit as a revelation that would change his life Diwan over Fursten av Emgion tells the story of the fictive Prince of Emgion who participated in the Battle of Manzikert was captured tortured and blinded and then jailed in Constantinople for ten years On his way home the Prince is accompanied by a mysterious woman assisting him in his blindness 8 For this book Ekelof was awarded the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1966 9 Ekelof died on 16 March 1968 According to his will his ashes were scattered in the river Pactolus in Turkey 10 Legacy EditHe is remembered as one of the first Surrealist poets of Sweden On the 103rd anniversary of his birth 40 Swedish poetry enthusiasts gathered in Salihli Turkey Together with the deputy mayor they honored Ekelof s legacy in the city which he came to admire ardently on a visit in 1965 and portrayed in several poems In his will he expressed his wish to be cremated and his ashes spread over the Sard stream in Salihli A bust of Ekelof by Gurdal Duyar was to have been placed there but this was never done and it now waits in the garden of the Swedish Embassy in Istanbul 11 12 13 Selected bibliography EditIn Swedish Edit Sent pa jorden late on earth poems 1932 title in lower case lettering this is retained in all reprints Fransk surrealism French Surrealism translations 1933 Dedikation Dedication poems 1934 Hundra ar modern fransk dikt 100 Years of Modern French Poetry translations 1934 Sorgen och stjarnan The Sorrow and the Star poems 1936 Kop den blindes sang Buy the Blind Man s Song poems 1938 Farjesang Ferry Song poems 1941 Promenader Walks essays 1941 Non serviam Non Serviam poems 1945 Utflykter Excursions essays 1947 Om hosten In Autumn poems 1951 Strountes Nonsense poems 1955 Blandade kort Shuffled Cards essays 1957 Opus incertum Opus Incertum poems 1959 En Molna elegi A Molna Elegy poem 1960 Valfrandskaper Elective Affinities translations 1960 En natt i Otocac A night in Otocac poems 1961 Diwan over fursten av Emgion Diwan on the Prince of Emgion poems 1965 Sagan om Fatumeh The Tale of Fatumeh poems 1966 Vagvisare till underjorden Guide to the Underworld trans Rika Lesser poems 1967 Partitur Score poems and drafts from his final year 1969 Lagga patience Solitaire Game essays 1969 En sjalvbiografi An Autobiography miscellaneous 1971 En rost A Voice sketches diary notes poems 1973 A collected volume of Ekelof s poetry Dikter Poems was published by Man Pocket in 1987 In English Edit Selected Poems of Gunnar Ekelof translated by Muriel Rukeyser and Leif Sjoberg New York Twayne Publishers 1967 Late Arrival on Earth Selected Poems translated by Robert Bly and Christina Paulston London Rapp amp Carroll 1967 I Do Best Alone at Night translated by Robert Bly and Christina Paulston Washington The Charioteer Press 1968 Selected Poems translated by W H Auden and Leif Sjoberg New York Pantheon Books 1971 Ekelof made some substantial re edits of the text and sequence of poems in later collected editions and anthologies of his work especially relating to his 1930s books References Edit Lundkvist Martinsson Ekelof by Espmark amp Olsson in Delblanc Lonnroth Goransson vol 3 Carl Olof Sommar Gunnar Ekelof en biografi Albert Bonniers forlag 1989 A Olsson Ekelofs nej Ekelof s No Malden mellan stenarna Stockholm 1981 the point is elaborated in his 1983 Ekelof monograph of the same name a b c d e f g Gunnar Ekelof authorscalendar com 2017 Carl Olof Sommar Gunnar Ekelof en biografi Albert Bonniers forlag 1989 p 258 p 349 350 Ekelof Gunnar Svenska Akademien Sommar Carl Olof 1989 Gunnar Ekelof en biografi in Swedish Albert Bonniers forlag p 511 Sommar Carl Olof 1989 Gunnar Ekelof en biografi in Swedish Albert Bonniers forlag pp 559 ff 1966 Gunnar Ekelof Sweden Diwan over Fursten av Emgion Nordic Co operation Carl Olof Sommar Gunnar Ekelof en biografi Albert Bonniers forlag 1989 p 606 Isvecliler unlu sairleri Ekelof u Salihli de andilar Kazete 16 September 2010 Archived from the original on 1 September 2017 Retrieved 1 September 2017 Kayaoglu Turhan 2 April 1994 Ekelof byst i Sardes dn kultur Retrieved 1 September 2017 Dragomanen PDF Visby Svenska Forskningsinstitutet i Istanbul amp Foreningen Svenska Istanbulinstitutets Vanner 2014 p 14 archived from the original PDF on 18 September 2018 retrieved 1 September 2017Sources EditGunnar Ekelof 2004 a href Template Cite encyclopedia html title Template Cite encyclopedia cite encyclopedia a work ignored help External links EditThe Gunnar Ekelof society homepage in Swedish Petri Liukkonen Gunnar Ekelof Books and Writers Cultural officesPreceded byBertil Malmberg Swedish Academy Seat No 181958 1968 Succeeded byArtur Lundkvist Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gunnar Ekelof amp oldid 1171817028, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
