Josef Julius Wecksell (19 March 1838 – 9 August 1907) was a Finnish

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 wri ...

and playwright.

Biography

Wecksell was born at

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, Finland. He was the son of the hatter Johan Wecksell and Sofia Ulrika Björkelund. From 1858, he studied at the

Imperial Alexander University The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public university, public Research university, research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turk ...

. He wrote a variety of poems, dramas and plays. In 1860 he published his first collection of poems. His historic drama ''Daniel Hjort'' was first performed in November 1862 at the

Swedish Theatre The Swedish Theatre ( sv, Svenska Teatern) is a Swedish-language theatre in Helsinki, Finland, and is located at the Erottaja ( sv, Skillnaden) square, at the end of Esplanadi ( sv, Esplanaden). It was the first national stage of Finland. Hi ...

(''Nya Teatern'') in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. It later formed the basis for the opera ''Daniel Hjort'' by composer

Selim Palmgren Selim Gustaf Adolf Palmgren (16 February 1878 – 13 December 1951) was a Finnish composer, pianist, and conductor. Palmgren was born in Pori, Finland, February 16, 1878. He studied at the Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then ...

(1878–1951) which was performed first time on April 21, 1910. His poems were later set to music by composer

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

. He suffered from severe melancholy from the early 1860s and was first committed to a private psychiatric hospital in

Endenich Endenich is a neighborhood in the western part of Bonn, Germany. Before 1904 it was an independent municipality. The village of Endenich was founded in the 8th century, and was first mentioned in 804 as ''Antiniche''. Today, about 12,000 people liv ...

near

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. In 1865, he entered Lappvik asylum (''Lapinlahden sairaala'') in the Lapinlahti suburb of

where he remained until his death. In 1969, a statue of him was erected at the entrance to

Åbo Akademi University Åbo Akademi University ( sv, Åbo Akademi , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activiti ...

.Josef Julius Wecksell 1838—1907
Uppslagsverket Finland

Works

*''Valda ungdomsdikter'', Frenckellska Boktryckeriet, 1860. * *''Viisi runoa'', pseudonym Irene Mendelin, Kansanvalistus-seura, 1894. *''Tre friare: Skämt i en akt med sång'', Tryckeri- och tidnings, 1931.

Plays

''Daniel Hjort''
reprint Love kirjat, 1981,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wecksell, Josef Julius 1838 births 1907 deaths Writers from Turku University of Helsinki alumni Swedish-speaking Finns Writers from Southwest Finland Finnish poets in Swedish Finnish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Finnish poets 19th-century Finnish dramatists and playwrights Finnish male poets 19th-century male writers

Biography

Works

Plays

References

Further reading

External links