Sun Axelsson (19 August 1935 in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

– 14 January 2011 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

) was a Swedish poet, novelist, translator and journalist.

Life

Axelsson was the youngest daughter of the master gardener Karl Edvin Axelsson and Mignon Axelsson. She went to school in her home town of Gothenburg and then she continued at the University of

where she took a graduate degree in

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

. As reporter she worked for the literary review magazines BLM and Ord and Bild, and also in daily newspapers:

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...

and

Stockholms-Tidningen ''Stockholms-Tidningen'' (Swedish: ''The Stockholm Times'') was a Swedish-language morning newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1889 and 1984 with an interruption from 1966 to 1981. It was one of the major dailies in the country tog ...

. In 1959, Axelsson debuted with her first collection of poetry: Goalless (Mållös), and then she travelled extensively, with lengthy stays in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. She spent the whole of 1960 in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, and developed a relationship with the Chilean poet Nicanor Parra. While living in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

she also formed a close friendship with Nobel Prize–winning poet

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

. The events of her time in Chile and her personal experience of them are portrayed in ''The cradle of fire'' (Eldens vagga). Later, she wrote ''Stones in the mouth'' (Stenar i munnen), published under the pseudonym Jan Olov Hedlund, describing the terror and repression of Greece under the military junta. and ''Honey wolves'' (Honungsvargar). Axelsson translated into

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 by ...

a remarkable number of authors, among them:

, Federico García Lorca,

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

, Yiannis Ritsos, Octavio Paz,

Sergio Badilla Castillo Sergio Badilla Castillo (born November 30, 1947 in Valparaiso, Chile) is a Chilean poet and the founder of poetic transrealism in contemporary poetry. He is considered the Latin American poet with the broadest Nordic influence, from the Finnish ...

and Juan Cameron. The author's trilogy which began with ''A dreamed life'' (Drömmen om ett liv, 1978), and finished with ''The night season'' (Nattens arstid, 1989) was bestowed with numerous awards, from places such as the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

as well as from several international cultural institutions.

Work

*''Jag har en själ i Paris'' (My soul in Paris. 1990) novel *''Vindarnas barn'' (The boy of the winds. 1991) novel *''Ljusets hotell'' (Clarity Hotel. 1991), poetry collection *''Den första kärleken'' (The first love. 1991) short stories *''Tystnad och eko (Silence and echo. 1994) novel *''Svalornas tid'' (Time of swallows. 1996) short stories *''Sand.'' (1997) poetry collection *''Eget liv'' (Own life 2000) novel *''Drömmen om ett liv'' (A dreamed Life) novel *''Honungsvargar'' (Honey wolves) novel *''Nattens årstid'' (The night season) novel *''Evighetens stränder'' (Eternity ends. 2001), novel

References

External links

Author's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Axelsson, Sun Swedish women poets Swedish translators 1935 births 2011 deaths Translators to Swedish Translators from Spanish 20th-century Swedish poets 20th-century translators 20th-century Swedish women writers Stockholm University alumni

Life

Work

References

Further reading

External links