Elsa Sigrid Collin (3 October 1887 – 29 June 1941) was 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 b ...
theatre critic, poet and actress.
Early life
Collin was the daughter of Knut Johan August Collin, a doctor in
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edit ...
, and Sigrid Elvira Eskilsson. Elsa's mother died when she was just two years old; her father later remarried.
Career
After finishing school in 1906, Collin completed her
studentexamen
Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Collin became the first woman at any Swedish university to be part of a student spex show playing the part of Susanna, the chambermaid, in a spex called ''Gerda''; the spex also went on a tour to
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 popula ...
and
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edit ...
. Collin was also active in the left-wing fraternity ''Den yngre gubben'' and wrote for the student paper with, among others,
Vilhelm Ekelund
Vilhelm Ekelund (October 14, 1880 – September 3, 1949) was a Swedish poet.
Career
The works of Ekelund were influenced by Friedrich Hölderlin, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Emanuel Swedenborg. His early career was lyrical, and though not widely ...
, with whom she had a close relationship at the time.
After completing her bachelor's degree in 1909, Collin moved to Stockholm and entered
Stockholm University
Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, s ...
, but mostly worked, initially as an actress in the theatre ensemble Lilla Teatern as well as Uppsala Teatern. Over time she came to work more for newspapers, first as a secretary at the Stockholm weekly ''Figaro'' and then as the Stockholm theatre critic for the Malmö newspaper ''Arbetet''.
Collin published poetry in the Social Democratic women's magazine ''
Morgonbris
''Morgonbris'', full title ''Morgonbris: arbeterskornas tidning'' (meaning "Morning Breeze: Journal for working women"), is the magazine of the Social Democratic Women in Sweden.
The magazine was founded by the Women's Trade Union in 1904. The f ...
'', including two overtly political poems, "Det dagas" (Day is dawning) and "Giv ditt namn!" (Give your name!) written in association with the
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...
assemblies of 1912 and 1913. The title of the second refers to a petition effort; the poem became an anthem of the movement in Sweden.
During her years in Stockholm, Collin became a close friend of writer and theatre leader
Brita von Horn
Brita Clara Alice Augusta Florence von Horn (1 April 1886 – 14 February 1983) was a Swedish novelist, dramatist, director and theatre leader. She worked in the theatre scene in Stockholm and published several books.
Career
von Horn was born ...
; the two women shared a residence in
Skagen
Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen ...
. Together they created the theatre group the Dramatist Studio (''Dramatikerstudion'') and wrote a play for the group based on von Horn's book ''Aschebergskan på Wittskövle''. However, the piece did not receive its first performance until 1944, after Collin's death, when it was also
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoundly ...
's inaugural production at the
Helsingborg City Theatre Helsingborg City Theatre ( sv, Helsingborgs stadsteater) is the city theatre of Helsingborg, Sweden.
The present Helsingborg City Theatre was built in 1921, after the old Helsingborg Theatre (located at the same place, built in 1877) was demolis ...
.
Death
Collin died in 1941. Her funeral took place in Stockholm, but she was buried in the Nya kyrkogården (New Cemetery) in her birthplace Helsingborg.