Bo Carpelan
Encyclopedia
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan (25 October 1926 – 11 February 2011) was a Finnish poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He published his first book of poems in 1946, and received his Ph.D. in 1960. Carpelan, who wrote in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, composed numerous books of verse, as well as several novels and short stories. He is the only person as of yet to have received the Finlandia Prize
Finlandia Prize
The Finlandia Prize is the most prestigious literary award in Finland by the Finnish Book Foundation. It is awarded annually to the author of the best novel written by a Finnish citizen , children's book , and non-fiction book...
twice. He won the 2006 European Prize for Literature
European Prize for Literature
European Prize for Literature is a European-wide literary award sponsored by the city of Strasbourg with support from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs . The prize is award by the Jurys des Grands Prix Littéraires, in Strasbourg, at the same time as the Prix de Littérature Francophone...
. His poem, Winter was Hard, was set to music by composer Aulis Sallinen
Aulis Sallinen
Aulis Sallinen is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. He writes in a modern, though tonal and not experimental music style. He studied at the Sibelius Academy, where his teachers included Joonas Kokkonen...
. Carpelan died of cancer on 11 February 2011.