Nils Ferlin (11 December 1898 – 21 October 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

.''A History of Swedish Literature'' by Ingemar Algulin, (Stockholm: Swedish Institute, 1989) pp. 247–248.

Biography

Nils Ferlin was born in Karlstad, Värmland, where his father worked at ''

Nya Wermlands-Tidningen ''Nya Wermlands-Tidningen'' (meaning "The New Värmland Newspaper" in English), shortened ''NWT'', is a Swedish local newspaper distributed in the provinces of Värmland, Dalsland and western Dalarna. History and profile The newspaper was found ...

''. In 1908, the family moved to

Filipstad Filipstad is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Filipstad Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 10,644 inhabitants in 2019. Filipstad was granted city privileges in 1611 by Charles IX of Sweden, who named it after his son Ch ...

, and his father started his own newspaper. His father died the next year, however, and the family moved from their comfortable residence to a humbler dwelling in the industrial district so that Ferlin could finish his education. He graduated at the age of sixteen. Ferlin had a minor career as an actor and debuted at the age of seventeen in '' Salomé'' by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. He continued his career with a traveling theater company. Although many of Ferlin's poems are melancholic, they are not without humor. Several were set to music and became popular songs such as ''En valsmelodi'', an attack on the music industry. Ferlin sold over 300,000 volumes of his poetry during his lifetime. His lasting appeal is partly attributed to his vivid portrayal of central Stockholm before

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

and his association with the popular culture that flourished there then.''With Plenty Of Colored Lanterns'' by Nils Ferlin, trans. by Thord Fredenholm, (Mullsjö: Persona Press 1986). Several statues of Nils Ferlin have been erected in Sweden: one in

of him sitting on a park bench, one in the

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 67,122 inhabitants in 2020 with 97,233 inhabitan ...

city square of him standing on a table, and one near Klara kyrka in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

of him lighting a cigarette. Ferlin’s lyrics have been translated into English by Martin S. Allwood, Fred Lane, Thord Fredenholm and Roger Hinchliffe.''Swedes On Love'' CD, trans. by Roger Hinchliffe, (Stockholm: Roger Records, 1991).

Bibliography

*1930 ''En döddansares visor'' (Songs of a death dancer) *1933 ''Barfotabarn'' (Barefoot children) *1937 ''Lars och Lisa i Stockholm'' (Lars and Lisa in Stockholm) *1938 ''Goggles'' *1944 ''Med många kulörta lyktor'' (With plenty of colored lanterns) *1951 ''Kejsarens papegoja'' (The emperor's parrot) *1957 ''Från mitt ekorrhjul'' (From my squirrel wheel)

References

External links

Swedish
Nils Ferlin sällskapet
at Swedish music and film.
Cirkusartisten som blev vår folkkäraste poet
English
Nils Ferlin
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. Translations
''Couplet'' and other poems
Videos * * * * Song begins at 8:36 of medley. * Song begins at 7:42 of medley. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferlin, Nils 1898 births 1961 deaths People from Karlstad Writers from Värmland County Swedish-language poets 20th-century Swedish poets

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links