The Swedish poet Gunnar Ekelöf (1907–1968) is one of the greatest names in Nordic literature. Above all, his body of work shows that writing was a vital necessity for him. He writes in order to seek out and create a life for himself: “When I write I am alone, without being lonely. When I think of my life, I have never been as happy as when I sit with the pen in my hand and a blank sheet of paper before me. I am beginning to believe that writing is the only thing I am good at.” In his poems, Ekelöf continually explores dream and vision, history and mysticism, to mirror himself in a multitude of voices.
In this lecture, the author Ingrid Nielsen will illuminate some aspects of a rich and strange body of work.