Bo Carpelan
Baron Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan (25 October 1926 – 11 February 2011) was a Finland-Swedish poet and author. He published his first book of poems, Som en dunkel värme, in 1946, and received his PhD in 1960. Carpelan, who wrote in Swedish, composed numerous books of verse, as well as several novels and short stories.
Also recorded as Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan
Bo Carpelan

Teemu Rajala · CC BY 3.0
- Name
- Bo Carpelan
- Birth Name
- Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan
- Born
- 25 October 1926
- Birthplace
- Helsinki, Finland
- Died
- 11 February 2011
- Place of death
- Espoo, Finland
- Education
- University of Helsinki
- Full name
- Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan.
- Nationality
- Finland.
- Occupation
- poet, translator, journalist, literary critic and writer.
- Fields
- poetry, modernism and children's.
- Known for
- I de mörka rummen.
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Documentary summary
Baron Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan (25 October 1926 – 11 February 2011) was a Finland-Swedish poet and author. He published his first book of poems, Som en dunkel värme, in 1946, and received his PhD in 1960. Carpelan, who wrote in Swedish, composed numerous books of verse, as well as several novels and short stories.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q318198 · wikipedia · Bo Carpelan
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 1997, he won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize, known as the 'little Nobel'. He was the first person to have received the Finlandia Prize twice (in 1993 and 2005). He won the 2006 European Prize for Literature. His other awards include the Pro Finlandia Medal in 1980, the State Literature Prize in 1967, 1970, and 1972, the Nils Holgersson Plaque for children's literature in 1968, and the Nils Ferlin Prize in 1981. His poem, Winter was Hard, was set to music by composer Aulis Sallinen. He also wrote the libretto for Erik Bergman's only opera, Det sjungande trädet. Carpelan died of cancer on 11 February 2011. He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. He was a member of the Finnish noble family Carpelan. His parents were Bertel Gustaf Carpelan and Ebba Adele Lindahl. In 1954, he married Barbro Eriksson. Carpelan went to Svenska normallyceum i Helsingfors and then studied history of literature at University of Helsinki. He became Doctor of Philosophy in 1960, with a dissertation on the poetry of Gunnar Björling titled Studier i Gunnar Björlings diktning 1922–1933. Alongside his writing career, Carpelan worked at the Helsinki City Library from 1946, serving as deputy director from 1964. He was also a literary critic for the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet from 1949 to 1964 and served as a Professor of Arts from 1980 to 1985.
Bo Carpelan studied at University of Helsinki and Svenska normallyceum. The recorded working language is Swedish and Finnish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are poetry, modernism and children's. Places of work recorded in the authority are Helsinki. Works named in the authority record are I de mörka rummen. Distinctions recorded are Karl Emil Tollander Prize, Svenska Dagbladet Literature Prize, Carl Emil Englund prize and Swedish Academy Finland Prize.

Bo Carpelan, Finnish writer, Helsinki, August 2008.
Bo_Carpelan.jpg: Teemu Rajala derivative work: Bff (talk) · Bo_Carpelan.jpg
Key facts
Key facts
• Honorific Prefix — Baron • Name — Bo Carpelan • Birth Name — Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan • Born — 25 October 1926 • Birthplace — Helsinki, Finland • Died — 11 February 2011 • Place of death — Espoo, Finland • Language — Swedish • Education — University of Helsinki • Period — 1946–2011 • Notable Works — I de mörka rummen, i de ljusa Urwind Berg
Identity
Identity
Bo Carpelan is recorded as having received Karl Emil Tollander Prize, Svenska Dagbladet Literature Prize and Carl Emil Englund prize.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1926
Bo Carpelan born at Helsinki.
2011
Bo Carpelan died at Espoo.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Helsinki.
Birth place
Espoo.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q318198: Bo Carpelan
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Bo Carpelan”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Two Poets of Finland: Paavo Haavikko and Bo Carpelan, Books Abroad, 1972
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1972
Selected bibliography
• Som en dunkel värme (poetry collection, 1946) • Anders på ön (children's book, 1959) • Bågen (children's book, 1968) • Gården (poetry collection, 1969) • Rösterna i den sena timmen (novel, 1971) • I de mörka rummen, i de ljusa (poetry collection, 1976) • Urwind (novel, 1993) • Berg (novel, 2005) Carpelan also translated works into Swedish from Finnish, including books by Paavo Haavikko, Antti Hyry, and Iris Uurto.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Finland Mourns Bo Carpelan. Yle. 2011.
- 2.sydsvenskan.se.
- 3.HYLLYTTÄJÄSTÄ APULAISKIRJASTON-JOHTAJAKSI. université d'Helsinki. 2014.
- 4.Note biographique. 155.
- 5.Note biographique. 156.
- 6.Note biographique. 157.
- 7.Judith Meurer-Bongardt. Carpelan, Bo. ResearchGate. 2020.
- 8.Archives « Honour List » 1956-1998, sur le site officiel ibby.org.
- 9.Bo Carpelan. Otava.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- note biographique. Pierre Grouix. 155-159. GROUIX 2007.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Verifiedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q318198: Bo CarpelanWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Bo Carpelan was recorded at birth as Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan. The authorities additionally record the heading Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan. His recorded languages were Swedish and Finnish. Formation and teaching. Carpelan studied at University of Helsinki and Svenska normallyceum. The record notes the qualifications Bachelor of Philosophy, Licentiate of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. Carpelan received Karl Emil Tollander Prize, Svenska Dagbladet Literature Prize, Carl Emil Englund prize, Swedish Academy Finland Prize, Nordic Council Literature Prize and Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland.
Identity and origins
Recognition and collections
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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