Gabriel Jönsson (18 July 1892 – 23 April 1984) was a Swedish

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. He is best known for his works inspired by Öresund and farming. He was one of the first members of the Scanian Academy in Sweden.

Early life

Jönsson was born into a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

family. His father, Peter, was a seaman, but due to back injuries caused by carrying bricks, he started a trading post in Ålabodarna, and later on the island

Hven Ven ( da, Hven, older Swedish spelling Hven) is a small Swedish island in the Øresund strait, between Scania and Zealand (Denmark). It is part of Landskrona Municipality, Scania County. The island has 371 inhabitants and an area of . During ...

Husvik Husvik is a former whaling station on the north-central coast of South Georgia Island. It was one of three such stations in Stromness Bay, the other two being Stromness and Leith Harbour. Husvik initially began as a floating, offshore factory sit ...

. Jönsson's mother was hired to work at the Husvik store and later married Jönsson's father. Peter Jönsson died in 1901, when Jönsson was 7. At that time he had two brothers and one sister. Jönsson’s wish was to become a seaman like his father, but his mother, a businesswoman, wanted him to be educated. She paid for her three sons' education. Jönsson studied first in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

, at the Högre Allmänna Läroverket "Higher Public Learning Institute" and later at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Svenska Dagbladet , Stockholms-Tidningen and Sydsvenska Dagbladet. He wrote many poems from 1920 until 1991. He also wrote two screenplays, ''Country life'' and ''

The Girl from Backafall ''The Girl from Backafall'' (Swedish: ''Flickan från Backafall'') is a 1953 Swedish drama film directed by Bror Bügler and starring Viola Sundberg, Sven Lindberg and Kenne Fant.Qvist & von Bagh p.124 It is based on a poem by Gabriel Jönsson, ...

''. He received multiple prizes, including The Nine Grand Prix, Sydsvenska Dagbladet's culture prize, Rural Writers' Scholarship and Skane of the year. In 2013 he received a memorial stone on Landskrona's Walk of Fame, inaugurated by King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf.

"The Girl from Backafall" ("Flickan från Backafall")

The poem "Vid Vakten" (At the helm) from the book ''Flaskpost'' "Message in a bottle" (1920) was turned into a popular song in Sweden "Flickan från Backafall" (The girl from Backafall) by Gunnar Turesson and is today a signature song of the island Hven, where Backafall is located. Backafall translated to English means "falling slope" and is a reference to the area between the white church on the island of Hven's west side and small harbor of the same name below. The song describes a young seaman in the Caribbean on a long voyage, longing for his girlfriend waiting for him at home.

Published works

*1920 Flaskpost (Message in a bottle) *1927 Årsringar (Year rings) *1935 Skånska somrar, Bonniers (Scanian Summers) *1936 Mina skepp (My ships) *1941 Kustland (Coastland) *1944 Skånehistorier (Scanian stories) *1946 Himmel och blandsäd (Heaven and wheet) *1948 Diktens Skåne (Poetry of Scania) *1952 Dikter (Poetry) *1954 Än sjunger Öresund (The Sound is still singing) *1956 Min strand (My beach) *1964 Skåne i kameraögat (Scania in the camera eye) *1975 Minnen från kustlandet och betland (Memories from coastland and sugarbetland) *1978 Ung mellan backar och böljor, Bernces (Young between hills and vawes) *1980 Porträtt och Poesier, Bernces (Portretts and Poetry) *1991 Fotboll är också poesi, Förlagsband Förlaga Viken (Soccer is also poetry)

Prizes and awards

*1954 De Nios Stora Pris ( The Nine Society's Big Price) *1956 Sydsvenska Dagbladets Kulturpris (The South Swedish Daily Newspaper's Price of Culture) *1971 Landsbygdens författarstipendium (Rural author scholarship) *1977 Årets skåning (

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

n of the year) *2013 He got a memorial stone on Landskronas Walk of Fame which was inaugurated by the Swedish king Carl XVI Gustaf.

Family

Jönsson was married to Anna-Margareta, called "Annika" (1903-1991). They are buried together at Glumslöv's cemetery.

References

Sources

#Karin Karlsson (1977) Bernces, Malmö, Sångaren vid Öresund "The singer by the Sound",

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsson, Gabriel 1892 births 1984 deaths Swedish poets Swedish male poets 20th-century Swedish poets 20th-century Swedish male writers