Mikael Niemi (born 13 August 1959) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

author. He wrote the novel ''Populärmusik från Vittula'' (in English as ''Popular music from Vittula''). It is the story of a young boy, Matti, growing up in

Pajala Pajala () is a locality and the seat of Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden, with 1,958 inhabitants in 2010. It is located in Swedish Lapland. Pajala is in the Torne Valley and was dominated by people speaking a Finnish dialect u ...

in the 1960s and is recounted in a humorous way. It became a best-seller in Sweden and was subsequently translated into 30 languages and made into a film in 2004 by Reza Bagher.

Life and career

Niemi's father was a police officer and his mother was a teacher and language coach. Niemi was born in

Tärnaby Tärnaby is a locality situated in Storuman Municipality, Lappland, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 482 inhabitants in 2010. It is known for its successful skiers, particularly in the "technical" disciplines: Slalom and Giant Slalom: Ingemar St ...

but grew up in the bilingual town of Pajala in the Torne valley (Tornedal), part of Lapland, inside the Arctic Circle and on the Finnish border. His father's first language was

Meänkieli (literally 'our language') is a group of distinct Finnish dialects or a Finnic language spoken in the northernmost part of Sweden along the valley of the Torne River. Its status as an independent language is disputed, but in Sweden it is recogn ...

, the local variety of

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

, but Niemi was raised with his mother's first language,

. His maternal grandmother was

Sámi The Sámi ( ; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland), which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Murmansk Oblast, Ru ...

. Many of his books contain some Meänkieli language. Much of the inspiration for his writing comes from his own upbringing. He began writing poetry and novels at the age of fifteen, dreaming of becoming an author. He moved to Luleå to train in engineering and telecommunications, and stayed there for twenty years until returning to Pajala. He worked for some time as a supply teacher, and made his publishing debut with the poetry book 'Näsblod under högmässan' (Nosebleed during High Mass)' in 1988. He has published many collections of poetry, such as ''Änglar med mausergevär'' (Angels with mauserguns) and ''Med rötter här uppe'' (With roots up here) and has written poetry, prose and drama for radio and the screen. He is best known for his novel Populärmusik från Vittula (Popular Music from Vittula), which was awarded the Swedish equivalent of the Booker Prize, the August Prize, in 2000. He has also written ''Svålhålet'' (Astro truckers), ''Kyrkdjävulen'' (The church devil), ''Mannen som dog som en lax'' (The man who died like a salmon), ''Blodsugarna'' (The bloodsuckers), and ''Koka Björn'' (To Cook a Bear) which has been sold for translation to fifteen territories. Niemi is an amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

."Amatörastronom i Pajala"
Curie – en tidning från Vetenskapsrådet 2012-11-14 He is a member of the Pajala church choir and describes himself as a "typical Swedish agnostic". His wife, Eelkje Tuma, is an anthropologist, and comes from

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She came to Tornedal to study burial traditions.

Bibliography in English translation

* '' Popular Music from Vittula.'' ( sv, Populärmusik från Vittula, 2000.) Translated into English by Laurie Thompson. * ''Astrotruckers.'' ( sv, Svålhålet, 2004.) Translated by Laurie Thompson. * ''To Cook A Bear.''( sv, Koka björn, 2017.) Translated into English by Deborah Bragan-Turner

References

1959 births Living people People from Pajala Municipality Writers from Norrbotten Swedish male writers Swedish people of Finnish descent Swedish Sámi people August Prize winners {{Sweden-writer-stub