Hjalmar Gullberg

• Name — Hjalmar Gullberg • Born — 30 May 1898 • Birthplace — Malmö, Sweden • Died — 19 July 1961 • Place of death — Holmeja, Sweden • Occupation — writer

Gullberg was born in Malmö, Scania. As a student at Lund University, he was the editor of the student magazine Lundagård. He was the manager of the Swedish Radio Theatre 1936-1950. In 1940 he was made a member of the Swedish Academy, and he also became an honorary doctor of philosophy at Lund University (1944). Gullberg published a number of poems and prose texts in Lundagård and debuted with a book of poems in the 1920s. His breakthrough was Andliga övningar (1932, "Spiritual exercises") characterized by christian themes, followed by Kärlek i tjugonde seklet (1933, "Love in the twentieth century") that contrasted sensual erotic themes with mysticism. In Fem kornbröd och två fiskar (1942, "Five barley breads and two fishes") he dealt with the contemporary political situation during the Second world war combined with more personal themes. This book marked the end of the first phase in Gullberg's poetry noted for a virtouso use of traditional rhymed verse forms and a distinctively personal lyrical diction. Gullberg's later work includes Terziner i okonstens tid (1958, "Terza rimas in the unartistic time"), in which he used the verse form borrowed from Dante Alghieri, and Ögon, läppar (1959, "Eyes, lips") that with serene simplicity features love poems and nature poems. A poem from Gullberg's book Kärlek i tjugonde seklet from 1933, called "Förklädd gud" ("God in disguise"), was set to music by the composer Lars-Erik Larsson in 1940. The resulting lyrical suite has become one of the most well-recognised and best loved pieces of Swedish music for choir and orchestra. Gullberg was also a translator of Ancient literature and modern literature. He translated works by Aristophanes, Euripides, Sophocles and Federico García Lorca, and introduced in Swedish the contemporary poets Gabriela Mistral, Juan Ramón Jiménez and Giorgos Seferis that were all subsequently awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Gullberg had been suffering from myasthenia gravis, which resulted during his last few years that he was bound to his bed. He had also been tracheotomized, and was for long periods of time connected to a ventilator. He committed suicide on 19 July 1961 by drowning at Lake Yddingen in Scania.