Hjalmar Gullberg (30 May 1898 – 19 July 1961) was a Swedish
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 w ...
and translator.
Career
Gullberg was born in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popul ...
,
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 Skån ...
. As a student at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Lundagård. He was the manager of the Swedish Radio Theatre 1936-1950. In 1940 he was made a member of the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...
, and he also became an
honorary doctor
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
at Lund University (1944).
A poem from Gullberg's book ''Kärlek i tjugonde seklet'' from 1933, called "Förklädd gud" ("God in disguise"), was set to music by the composer
Lars-Erik Larsson
Lars-Erik Vilner Larsson (15 May 190827 December 1986) was a Sweden, Swedish composer, conductor, radio producer, and educator. He wrote three of the most popular works (each a suite (music), suite) in Swedish art music: ''A Winter's Tale (Larss ...
in 1940. The resulting lyrical suite has become one of the most well-recognised and best loved pieces of Swedish music for choir and orchestra.
Personal life
Gullberg had been suffering from
myasthenia gravis
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, ...
, which resulted during his last few years that he was bound to his bed. He had also been tracheotomized, and was for long periods of time connected to a
ventilator
A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...
. He committed suicide on 19 July 1961 by drowning at Lake Yddingen in Scania.
Bibliography
* ''I en främmande stad'' (1927)
* ''Sonat'' (1929)
*''Andliga övningar'' (1932)
*''Kärlek i tjugonde seklet'' (1933)
*''Ensamstående bildad herre.'' Tragicomic verse. (1935)
*''Att övervinna världen'' (1937)
*''100 dikter''; a selection from six volumes of verse (1939)
*''Röster från Skansen'' (1941)
*''Fem kornbröd och två fiskar'' (1942; includes ''Död amazon'')
*''Hymn till ett evakuerat Nationalmuseum'' (1942)
*''Den heliga natten'' (1951)
*''Dödsmask och lustgård'' (1952)
*''Terziner i okonstens tid'' (1958)
*''Ögon, läppar'' (1959)
*''50 dikter''; a selection from three volumes of verse with an introduction by Carl Fehrman (1961)
*''Gentleman, Single, Refined and selected poems, 1937 - 1959'' by Hjalmar Gullberg and
Judith Moffett
Judith Moffett (born 1942) is an American author and academic. She has published poetry, nonfiction, science fiction, and translations of Swedish literature. She has been awarded grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts an ...
. Louisiana State University Press, 1979.
*''En anständig och ömklig comoedia.'' A play in three acts by Hjalmar Gullberg and Olle Holmberg (published 1984)
*''Kärleksdikter'' (first edition with this title published 1967)
*''Dikter''. With an epilogue by Anders Palm (1985)
Selected translations and interpretations of other writers' work
*
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
Medea
In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jaso ...
'' (1931)
*Aristophanes: ''Lysistrate'' (''
Lysistrata
''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...
'') (1932)
*Eurypides: ''Alkestis'' (''
Alcestis
Alcestis (; Ancient Greek: Ἄλκηστις, ') or Alceste, was a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her life story was told by pseudo-Apollodorus in his '' Bibliotheca'', and a version of her death and return from t ...
'') (1933)
*
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
: ''
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., ...
'' (1935)
*
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
: ''Den girige'' (''L'Avare''/''
The Miser
''The Miser'' (french: L'Avare; ; also known by the longer name ''L'Avare ou L'École du Mensonge,'' meaning The Miser, or the School for Lies) is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed on September ...
Alfred de Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...
: ''Lek ej med kärleken'' (''On ne badine pas avec l'amour'') (1936)
*
Gabriela Mistral
Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist. In 1945 she became the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Li ...
: ''Dikter'' (1945)
*
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...
: ''Blodsbröllop'' (''
Bodas de sangre
''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...
'') (1946)
*Gabriela Mistral: ''Den heliga vägen'' (1949)
*Molière: ''Den inbillade sjuke'' ('' Le Malade imaginaire''/''The Hypochondriac'') (translated for
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
1954)
*''Gåsmors sagor'' (1955)
*''Själens dunkla natt'' and other interpretations of foreign lyrics (1956)
*
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...
: ''
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the ...
'' (1960)
*''Franskt 1600-tal'' (published posthumously in 1962 with an introduction by Olle Holmberg)
*
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
: ''Köpmannen i Venedig'' (''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
'') (1964)
*William Shakespeare: ''Som ni behagar'' (''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 h ...