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cover pictures in the 2000:1 issue are taken from the book Florans
konstnärer (Floral Artists) by Monika Björk, published
by Prisma in 1999 (ISBN 91-518-3502-9). The subtitle is: "Botanical
illustrations and illustrators in Scandinavia", and indicates
the contents – which include fruits and fungi as well
as flowers – of a richly illustrated volume featuring
artists from a variety of countries from the 16th century to the present
day. Needless to say, considerable attention is paid to the journeys
and publications by Linnaeus and the Rudbecks, not least the twelve
volumes of Blumboken, from which some exquisite colour illustrations
are reproduced. Some of the most stunning pictures are by modern artists,
notably various depictions of clematis by "Mr Klematis"
himself (Magnus Johnsson), some mysteriously alluring chantarelle
mushrooms by Bo Mossberg, and rather creepy seaweed by Helena Samuelsson. |
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pictures reproduced on our covers are by no means the best paintings
from the point of view of quality, but have been chosen for their
literary connection: they are by Fredrika Bremer, who visited Cuba
in the winter of 1851. She lived in a little hut in the Yumori valley
and her painting of it is reproduced on our front cover. The back
cover is her portrait of humming birds feasting on the bright red
flowers of a bush that particularly caught her eye, "Lacrimas
Cupido", or Cupid's tears. She kept some of the flowers on her
desk, and noted that: "to my astonishment I noticed that the
flowers were disappearing, one after another. I picked some new ones,
and before I knew what was happening they had disappeared as well.
I was at a loss to explain what was going on. Then I happened to glance
up at the wall and was amazed to see a long row of my flowers marching
up to the ceiling. Tiny little red ants were carrying them up the
wall and then queuing to take them out onto the roof, where they disappeared
from my view." |
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Jan
Henrik Swahn: BLM in retrospect
translation by Linda Schenck |
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| Bonniers
Literära Magasin
was founded in 1932, and for the rest of the 20th century was
at the centre of literary discussion in Sweden. It was closed
down at the end of last year, and in an article specially written
for Swedish Book Review its last editor, Jan Henrik Swahn,
recounts his feelings on the demise of a Swedish institution. |
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Johanna
Ekström
feature and translation by Sarah
Death |
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Johanna
Ekström, born in Stockholm in 1970 and now living
and working in the capital, is a writer and visual artist
who has also presented installations, sculptures and photographic
exhibitions at galleries around Sweden. A child of writers,
she grew up in an atmosphere where language was what mattered,
and she has now added a visual dimension to her linguistic
inheritance. Sarah Death introduces this aspect of Ekström's
work and presents her translation of the story Pretzel
mix.
Sarah Death,
Johanna Ekström: Explorer in Words and Pictures
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Mårten
Westö
translation by David McDuff |
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| Mårten
Westö was born in 1963. He made his debut in 1990
with the collection Om tröskeln ("On
the Threshold") and published another, Som om
det fanns ("As Though It Were There"), in
1992. In the six-year silence that preceded the publication
of Nio dagar utan namn ("Nine Days Without
Names"), Westö has developed an assured, original
style that also shows the influence of mainstream Finland-Swedish
poetry, notably that of Bo Carpelan and Tua Forsström.
David McDuff presents his translations of five of Westö's
poems. |
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Inger
Alfvén
translation by Ulla Sweedler |
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| Inger
Alfvén (b. 1940) has published 15 novels and
has been on the bestseller list since her debut in 1964.
She is one of Sweden's most acute social observers and
writes realistic novels about ordinary people and everyday
life with a sharp eye for the deeper levels of the human
psyche. She herself says that she is out to explore
issues in contemporary society and present what she
sees in entertaining form. Her prose follows the rhythm
of everyday speech, and is deceptively simple and understated.
Ulla Sweedler presents her translation of Alfvén's
story Tomorrow morning you'd better be careful!
which was included in the collection Det blåa
skåpet (The Blue Cupboard), published by Bonniers
in 1999. |
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Elisabeth
Olin
translation by Silvester Mazzarella |
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| Elisabeth
Olin was born in Stockholm in 1945, and her first book,
a collection of short stories, När och fjärran
(Near and Far) appeared in 1990. The story translated
here, 'Mirror, mirror...', is taken from a collection
of ten published in 1996, Vattenvägar (Waterways).
Elisabeth Olin is a former editor at Bonniers, and has
been active as a translator from English and French since
1985. |
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Pictures
of Sweden on the Web
Jerome Whittingham |
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| Jerome
Whittingham is a photographer and lives in Hull. Being married
to Dr Charlotte Whittingham, Director of Scandinavian Studies
at the local university, he has acquired an interest in Sweden,
and his website
contains several collections of photographs taken during recent
trips to Sweden. We reproduce a small selection, together with
Jerome's introduction and descriptions. |
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Kerstin
Ekman Seminar
article by Sarah Death |
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