''Bertel'' Johan Sebastian, Baron Gripenberg, born 19 September 1878 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, died 6 May 1947, was a Finland-Swedish poet. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fourteen times.

Career

His early poetry was inspired by

fin de siècle () is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context, ...

eroticism, which was followed by an interest in

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

in the poetry published between 1908 and 1917. After that came a more militaristic and political period, in collections such as ''Under fanan'' (1918), ''Efter striden'' (1925) and ''Den stora tiden'' (1928). In a fourth and last period Gripenberg's poetry became more introspective. Gripenberg's 1925 poetry collection ''Den hemliga glöden'', published under the pseudonym Åke Erikson, is a parody of

modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases ...

. He also translated English and Finnish works into Swedish. Among his more prominent translations are

Johannes Linnankoski Johannes Linnankoski (originally Vihtori Johan Peltonen, 18 October 1869 – 10 August 1913) was a Finland, Finnish author and playwright, which mainly influenced writing in the Golden Age of Finnish Art. His most famous work is the romance novel ...

's novel ''

The Song of the Blood-Red Flower , translator = W. J. Alexander Worster , image = Thesongofthebloodredflower 1921.jpg , caption = A hardcover of the 1921 English version , author = Johannes Linnankoski , illustrator = , cover_artist = , coun ...

'' and

Edgar Lee Masters Edgar Lee Masters (August 23, 1868 – March 5, 1950) was an American attorney, poet, biographer, and dramatist. He is the author of ''Spoon River Anthology'', ''The New Star Chamber and Other Essays'', ''Songs and Satires'', ''The Great V ...

' ''

Spoon River Anthology ''Spoon River Anthology'' (1915), by Edgar Lee Masters, is a collection of short free verse poems that collectively narrates the epitaphs of the residents of Spoon River, a fictional small town named after the Spoon River, which ran near Masters' ...

''. From an early age Gripenberg had a disdain for egalitarian thought and parliamentary democracy, and participated on the

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

side in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

. His 1918 poem "Den drömda armén" ("the dreamed army") has been interpreted as a prediction of the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. He joined the Lapua Movement but looked down on the Fascist and

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

movements which he found to be plebeian. Regardless he enthusiastically supported Germany in the Second World War. He participated in the

Peasant March The Peasant March (, ) was a demonstration in Helsinki on 7 July 1930 by the far-right Lapua movement, attended by more than 12,000 supporters from all over the country. It was the most significant show of strength in the short history of the Lap ...

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 ...

in the summer of 1930, but after that rarely took part in any public political activity.

Selected works

;Poetry *1903 – ''Dikter'' *1904 – ''Vida vägar'' *1905 – ''Gallergrinden'' *1907 – ''Rosenstaden'' *1908 – ''Svarta sonetter'' *1909 – ''Drifsnö'' *1911 – ''Aftnar i Tavastland'' *1918 – ''Under fanan'' *1922 – ''Kanonernas röst'' *1923 – ''Efter striden'' *1925 – ''Den hemliga glöden'' (under the pseudonym Åke Erikson) *1925 – ''Skymmande land'' *1928 – ''Den stora tiden'' *1930 – ''Vid gränsen'' *1933 – ''Livets eko'' *1941 – ''Sista ronden'' *1947 – ''Genom gallergrinden'' (posthumous) ;Prose and drama *1909 – ''Vid mörkrets portar'' *1910 – ''Det brinnande landet'' *1918 – ''En dröm om folkviljan'' *1925 – ''På Dianas vägar''

Accolades

*1913 – Tollanderska priset *1916 – De Nios Stora Pris *1930 – De Nios Stora Pris *1940 – De Nios Stora Pris

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gripenberg, Bertel 1878 births 1947 deaths Barons of Sweden English–Swedish translators Finnish poets in Swedish People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Translators from Finnish Writers from Saint Petersburg