Dan Andersson
Encyclopedia
Daniel "Dan" Andersson (born 6 April 1888 in Skattlösberg, Grangärde parish (in present-day Ludvika Municipality
), Dalarna
, Sweden
, died 16 September 1920 in Stockholm
) was a Swedish author and poet. He also set some of his own poems to music. Andersson married primary school teacher Olga Turesson, the sister of artist Gunnar Turesson, in 1918. A nom de plume he sometimes used was Black Jim. Andersson is counted among the Swedish proletarian authors, but his works are not limited to that genre.
immigrated to cultivate new land. On his father's side, Andersson descended from these Finnish settlers. Andersson took odd jobs during the first years of his life, for instance as a forestry worker and school teacher. It was difficult to make a living. The family had considered trying to find a better life in America, and Andersson was sent there as a 14-year old in 1902 to see if it would be possible for the family to join him. But in a letter from the U.S.
he wrote that there were no better opportunities for the family there than in Sweden, upon which his father asked Andersson to return to Sweden. The family moved from Skattlösberg in 1905, but Andersson returned there to live with his parents and siblings 1911-1915. During this period, he wrote a number of stories and poems. Large parts of his Kolarhistorier and Kolvaktarens visor were probably created during this time.
, with, among others, future authors Harry Blomberg and Ragnar Jändel. He was also a good friend of Karl Lärka
, who would become a well-known documentary photographer. From this time onwards he was to become active as an author, writing poems and songs about his home region, which are read and sung almost a century later in Swedish homes. Gunde Johansson and Thorstein Bergman are among his most well-known interpreters, but he also put some of his own songs to music - perhaps the most famous are Till min syster ("To My Sister") and Jungman Jansson ("Sailor Jansson"). He was able to play the accordion
and the violin
. He was a co-worker at the Social Democratic newspaper Ny Tid in Gothenburg
1917-1918 and he also translated texts by Rudyard Kipling
and Charles Baudelaire
into Swedish. Despite his simple upbringing, Andersson was highly educated.
on 16 September 1920, where he had gone to look for a job at the newspaper Social-Demokraten
. The hotel staff had used hydrogen cyanide against bedbugs and hadn't cleared the room as prescribed. At 3 pm Andersson was found dead. At the same time, insurance inspector Elliott Eriksson from Bollnäs
also died. The hotel was located at Bryggaregatan 5 in Stockholm, but was demolished in the 1960s.
Andersson is buried at Lyviken Cemetery in Ludvika
.
Dan Andersson's poetry enjoys a broad popularity among the Swedish people because of its naturalist mysticism and searching for God. In 2005, Sofia Karlsson
recorded a new interpretation of Andersson's songs, which was awarded with a Grammy both in Sweden and in Denmark, but before then his poems had been sung by a number of artists, including the Hootenanny Singers
and Fred Åkerström
. In 1988, at the centenary of Andersson's birth, Posten
, the Swedish postal service, published two stamps in his honour. In Ludvika, a Dan Andersson week is celebrated the first week of every August. In Ludvika there is also a Dan Andersson museum, and a statue of him. A bust is also to be found at Järntorget
in Gothenburg
.
This article is mainly a translation of the equivalent article at Swedish Wikipedia.
Magazine pieces by Caroline Schleef 1953-1964
POEMS
SHORT STORY
ARTICLE
Ludvika Municipality
Ludvika Municipality is a municipality in Dalarna County, central Sweden. It has its seat in the town of Ludvika.In 1971 the City of Ludvika was amalgamated with the adjacent municipalities of Grangärde and Säfsnäs, forming the present entity.- Localities :Figures as of 2004.#Ludvika ...
), Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, died 16 September 1920 in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
) was a Swedish author and poet. He also set some of his own poems to music. Andersson married primary school teacher Olga Turesson, the sister of artist Gunnar Turesson, in 1918. A nom de plume he sometimes used was Black Jim. Andersson is counted among the Swedish proletarian authors, but his works are not limited to that genre.
Early life
Andersson grew up under poor conditions in the village of Skattlösberg where his father, primary school teacher Adolf Andersson and his wife Augusta Scherp (herself previously a teacher), worked in the school. The village is located in the so-called "Finn Woods" of southern Dalarna, where Forest FinnsForest Finns
Forest Finns are people of Finnish descent in the forest areas of Eastern Norway and Central Sweden...
immigrated to cultivate new land. On his father's side, Andersson descended from these Finnish settlers. Andersson took odd jobs during the first years of his life, for instance as a forestry worker and school teacher. It was difficult to make a living. The family had considered trying to find a better life in America, and Andersson was sent there as a 14-year old in 1902 to see if it would be possible for the family to join him. But in a letter from the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
he wrote that there were no better opportunities for the family there than in Sweden, upon which his father asked Andersson to return to Sweden. The family moved from Skattlösberg in 1905, but Andersson returned there to live with his parents and siblings 1911-1915. During this period, he wrote a number of stories and poems. Large parts of his Kolarhistorier and Kolvaktarens visor were probably created during this time.
Brunnsvik
During the years 1914-1915, Andersson studied at the Brunnsvik folk high schoolFolk high school
Folk high schools are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal...
, with, among others, future authors Harry Blomberg and Ragnar Jändel. He was also a good friend of Karl Lärka
Karl Lärka
Karl Lärka was one of the more important 20th-century documentary photographers in Sweden...
, who would become a well-known documentary photographer. From this time onwards he was to become active as an author, writing poems and songs about his home region, which are read and sung almost a century later in Swedish homes. Gunde Johansson and Thorstein Bergman are among his most well-known interpreters, but he also put some of his own songs to music - perhaps the most famous are Till min syster ("To My Sister") and Jungman Jansson ("Sailor Jansson"). He was able to play the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. He was a co-worker at the Social Democratic newspaper Ny Tid in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
1917-1918 and he also translated texts by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
and Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
into Swedish. Despite his simple upbringing, Andersson was highly educated.
Death
Dan Andersson died in room 11 at Hotel Hellman in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
on 16 September 1920, where he had gone to look for a job at the newspaper Social-Demokraten
Social-Demokraten
Social-Demokraten was a Swedish daily Social Democratic newspaper, belonging to the Swedish Social Democratic Party. The paper was founded in 1885 by August Palm, and existed up to 1945, when it changed name to Morgon-Tidningen...
. The hotel staff had used hydrogen cyanide against bedbugs and hadn't cleared the room as prescribed. At 3 pm Andersson was found dead. At the same time, insurance inspector Elliott Eriksson from Bollnäs
Bollnäs
Bollnäs is a locality and the seat of Bollnäs Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 12,455 inhabitants in 2005.- History :In written sources Bollnäs is traced from 1312, by a vicar named Ingemund who referred to it as Baldenaes, which means "the large isthmus," referring to the isthmus into a...
also died. The hotel was located at Bryggaregatan 5 in Stockholm, but was demolished in the 1960s.
Andersson is buried at Lyviken Cemetery in Ludvika
Ludvika
Ludvika is a bimunicipal locality and the seat of Ludvika Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 14,018 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:The conurbation of Ludvika extends over the border of Smedjebacken Municipality, where about 400 inhabitants live....
.
Legacy
Sofia Karlsson (singer)
Sofia Karlsson , is a Swedish folk singer.-Biography:Sofia Karlsson grew up in Enskede, Stockholm. She attended the folk music department of the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. From 1998 to 2002 she was a full time member in Swedish folk music act Groupa...
recorded a new interpretation of Andersson's songs, which was awarded with a Grammy both in Sweden and in Denmark, but before then his poems had been sung by a number of artists, including the Hootenanny Singers
Hootenanny Singers
The Hootenanny Singers were a popular folk group from Sweden, founded in 1961, and continuing into the 1970s. The group included Björn Ulvaeus, who later was a member of ABBA. Other bandmembers were Johan Karlberg, Tony Roth and Hansi Schwarz...
and Fred Åkerström
Fred Åkerström
Fred Åkerström was a Swedish folk guitarist and singer particularly noted for his interpretations of Bellman's music, and his own work of the typically Swedish song segment named visa. These songs, visor, are traditionally very narrative and the performance is "acted" to some degree. The singer is...
. In 1988, at the centenary of Andersson's birth, Posten
Posten (Sweden)
Posten AB is the name of the Swedish postal service. The word "posten" means "the post" or "the mail" in Swedish.Posten was established in 1636 by Axel Oxenstierna under the name Kungliga Postverket , although its origins can be traced further back, and it was operated as a government agency into...
, the Swedish postal service, published two stamps in his honour. In Ludvika, a Dan Andersson week is celebrated the first week of every August. In Ludvika there is also a Dan Andersson museum, and a statue of him. A bust is also to be found at Järntorget
Järntorget (Göteborg)
Järntorget is a public square in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is located west of Haga and is the starting point for the street of Linnégatan to the south, the avenue of Nya Allén to the east, the streets of Första Långgatan and Andra Långgatan to the west.Järntorget is the traditional grounds of the...
in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
.
This article is mainly a translation of the equivalent article at Swedish Wikipedia.
His works in English
- Modern Swedish Poetry Part 1 - C.D. Locock (1929) England
- Modern Swedish Short Stories - Madeleine Ekenberg (1934) England
- Charcoal Burner’s Ballad & Other Poems - Caroline Schleef (1943) USA
- Scandinavian Songs And Ballads - Martin S. Allwood (1950) Sweden
- The Last Night in Paindalen - Caroline Schleef (1958) USA
- LP: Swedish Songs - Fred Lane (1975) Sweden
- Dan Andersson In English - Åke Helgesson (1994) Sweden
- Poems by Dan Andersson - Mike McArthur (2003) England
Magazine pieces by Caroline Schleef 1953-1964
POEMS
- To Huck Finn’s Memory
- The Charcoal Tender
- The Poacher
- Canada Memories
- Jungman Jansson
- To Love
SHORT STORY
- The Needle-Maker’s Son
ARTICLE
- Dan Anderson: Charcoal-Burner and Poet
His life in English
- A History Of Swedish Literature - Alrik Gustafson (1961) USA
- A History Of Swedish Literature - Ingemar Algulin (1989) Sweden
- A History Of Swedish Literature - Lars G. Warme (1996) USA
A Musician's Last Journey
|
External links
- Dan Andersson page at Project RunebergProject RunebergProject Runeberg is an initiative patterned after Project Gutenberg that publishes freely available electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries...
- Dan Andersson page at Kuusankoski Public Library
- The Seven Seas at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
. Translated into Swedish by Dan Andersson in 1918.