Tua Birgitta Forsström (born 2 April 1947) is a

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish (; ) is a Variety (linguistics), variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking population, common ...

writer who writes in Swedish. She was awarded the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1998 for the

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

collection '' Efter att ha tillbringat en natt bland hästar''. Forsström's work is known for its engagement with the Finnish landscape, travel and conflicts within relationships. She often uses

quotation A quotation or quote is the repetition of a sentence, phrase, or passage from speech or text that someone has said or written. In oral speech, it is the representation of an utterance (i.e. of something that a speaker actually said) that is intro ...

s in her work, sometimes placing them directly into her poems and at other times using them as introductions or interludes in her sequences. She has used quotations from Egon Friedell,

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

and

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

. In the collection ''After Spending a Night Among Horses'' () (1997) Forsström uses quotations from the

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

film '' Stalker'', they are placed as interludes in a sequence of pieces and sit alone on the page, without direct reference to their source on the page, leaving this to a Notes & Quotations section at the end of the book. She published her first book in 1972, ''A Poem about Love and Other Things'' (). Her breakthrough into the English-speaking world came in 1987 with her sixth collection, ''Snow Leopard'' (), which was translated into the English by David McDuff and published by

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

. In 1990, the book won a Poetry Book Society Translation Award in the United Kingdom. In 2006, ''I Studied Once at a Wonderful Faculty'' was published by

, with translations from David McDuff and Stina Katchadourian. The collection contains ''Snow Leopard'' () (1987), ''The Parks'' () (1992), ''After Spending a Night Among Horses'' () (1997) and a new poem sequence called ''Minerals''. On 7 February 2019, Forsström was elected a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), 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 best known as the body t ...

, succeeding Katarina Frostenson in seat 18. She was inducted on 20 December 2019 and resigned five years later, on 20 December 2024.

Bibliography

* ''A Poem About Love and Other Things'' () (1972) * ''Where the Notes End'' () (1974) * ''Actually We are Very Happy () (1976) * ''Yellow bird's-nest'' () (1979) * ''September'' (1983) * ''Snow Leopard'' () (1987) * ''The Mariana Trench'' () (1990) * ''The Parks'' () (1992) * '' After Having Spent a Night Among Horses'' () (1997) * ''I Studied Once at a Wonderful Faculty'' () (2003)

Awards

Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forsstrom, Tua 1947 births Living people People from Porvoo Finnish poets in Swedish Nordic Council Literature Prize winners Finnish women poets 20th-century Finnish poets 20th-century Finnish women writers 21st-century Finnish women writers 21st-century Finnish poets International Writing Program alumni Swedish-speaking Finns Members of the Swedish Academy