Erik Axel Karlfeldt (20 July 1864 – 8 April 1931) was a Swedish poet whose highly symbolist poetry masquerading as regionalism was popular and won him the Nobel Prize in Literature posthumously in 1931 after he had been nominated by Nathan Söderblom, member of the Swedish Academy. It has been rumored that he had been offered the award already in 1919 but refused it, at least in part because of his position as permanent secretary to the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize.

Contents

• 1 Biography
• 2 Works in English
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Biography

Karlfeldt was born into a farmer's family in Karlbo, in the province of Dalarna. Initially, his name was Erik Axel Eriksson, but he *umed his new name in 1889, wanting to distance himself from his father, who had suffered the disgrace of a criminal conviction. He studied at Uppsala University, simultaneously supporting himself by teaching school in several places, including Djursholms samskola in the Stockholm suburb of Djursholm and at a school for adults. After completing his studies, he held a position at the Royal Library of Sweden, in Stockholm, for five years.

In 1904, Karlfeldt was elected a member of the Swedish Academy and held chair number 11. In 1905, he was elected a member of the Nobel Ins*ute of the Academy, and, in 1907, of the Nobel Committee. In 1912, he was elected permanent secretary of the Academy, a position he held until his death.

Uppsala University, Karlfeldt's alma mater, awarded him the *le of Doctor honoris causae in 1917.

Works in English

• Modern Swedish Poetry Part 1 (1929) – (trans. by C. D. Lo*)
• Arcadia Borealis (1938) – (trans. by Charles Wharton Stork)
• The North! To the North! (2001) – (trans. by Judith Moffett, five poets including Karlfeldt)

References

External links

• Erik Axel Karlfeldt on Nobelprize.org
• Short biography at nobel-winners.com
• List of Works
• Karlfeldt's collected works and a facsimile of a 1956 edition, both at Project Runeberg
• Petri Liukkonen. "Erik Axel Karlfeldt". Books and Writers