Swedish poet and literary critic
Carl David af Wirsen
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| Born
| (
1842-12-09
)
9 December 1842
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| Died
| 12 June 1912
(1912-06-12)
(aged 69)
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| Nationality
| Swedish
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| Occupation(s)
| poet and literary critic
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| Spouse
| Cecilia Emerentia Leontina Adlof (1839?1912)
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| Children
| Einar af Wirsen
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| Parent(s)
| Karl Ture af Wirsen
Eleonore von Schulzenheim
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In office
20 December 1879 ? 12 June 1912
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| Preceded by
| Carl Wilhelm Bottiger
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| Succeeded by
| Verner von Heidenstam
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In office
November 1884 ? June 1912
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| Preceded by
| Bror Emil Hildebrand
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| Succeeded by
| Hans Hildebrand
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Carl David af Wirsen
(9 December 1842 – 12 June 1912) was a
Swedish
poet, literary critic and the
Swedish Academy
's
permanent secretary
1884?1912.
Career
[
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]
Wirsen was born in
Vallentuna
,
Uppland
, to Karl Ture af Wirsen and Eleonore von Schulzenheim.
He was also for several years, in company with the historian
Hans Forssell
, editor of the
Swedish Literary Review
.
In 1870, he became a lecturer in
Swedish
and
Latin
at
Katedralskolan
in
Uppsala
. In 1876 he moved to
Gothenburg
, where he lectured and took care of the museum's library and art collections.
In 1879 he succeeded
Carl Wilhelm Bottiger
to the seat 8 of the Swedish Academy, and moved the year after to
Stockholm
, where he became literary reviewer for the
Post- och Inrikes Tidningar
, and in 1886 also for the magazine
Vart Land
.
In November 1884 he was appointed permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy. One of his tasks was to direct the work with "fixation of spelling" and the academy's dictionary. The former work resulted in
Svenska Akademiens ordlista
(
The Swedish Academy's dictionary
), where the modern spelling was represented, in spite of af Wirsens's opposition. Together with
Theodor Wisen
and
Esaias Tegner Jr.
, he tried to obstruct the publication.
In December 1883, he was appointed member of
The Hymn Book
committee of the
Church of Sweden
, which had the task of "preparing, with discretion, a new proposal for hymnbook". The result was the edition of 1889. He was appointed member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
in 1905.
Poetry
[
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]
Wirsen made his debut as a poet under the signature Kuno, first in the student's calendar
Isblomman
(1861) and in Namnlosa sallskapet's first publication
Sanger och berattelser af nio signaturer
("Songs and tales by nine signatures", 1863). After that, it lasted until the mourning memorial in
Uppsala
in 1872 after the
death
of king
Charles XV of Sweden
, for whom he wrote
Sang till minne af konung Carl XV
("Song commemorating king Charles XV"). After several
romantic poems
in the monthly
Nu
, he published his first collection
Dikter
(poems) in 1876. It was followed by other collections of poetry. His Christian faith was expressed in several ways in his works, including hymns and spiritual poems, of which probably the best known is the summer hymn
En vanlig gronskas rika drakt
.
Criticism
[
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]
af Wirsen's conservative views and an abundant publication of his literary criticism made him well-known but also provoked opposition, sometimes in harsh words, by his opponents, who represented new ideas with spelling reform and a freer style. According to his view, "the task of poetry is to discover the absolute, supersensual content, which is the foundation of the phenomena of the material world. The calling of the poet is a priesthood of light, he should in poetry reveal a higher world of purity and
peace
..."
As a critic, Wirsen found a hearing among many educated men, but not much connection with the young literature, and he has become notorious for his many negative reviews of
August Strindberg
,
Verner von Heidenstam
,
Selma Lagerlof
,
Henrik Ibsen
and many others. His central position as permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy - the institution which started to award the Nobel prize of literature in 1901 - also gave him considerable influence on the choice of laureate in the first years; for instance, he was long able to exclude
Selma Lagerlof
from the award, by year after year persuading a majority of the academy members to vote for alternative candidates, often nominated by himself.
[1]
Selected works
[
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]
Poetry
[
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]
- Dikter
(
Poems
), first collection (1876)
- Nya dikter
(
New poems
), second collection (1880)
- Sanger och bilder
(
Songs and images
) (1884)
- Vintergront
(
Winter green
) (1890)
- Toner och sagner
(1893)
- Under furor och cypresser
(1896), med dikter som
Spinoza
,
Septemberdag vid Bellmans byst
- Visor, romanser och ballader
(1899)
Historical literature biographies
[
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]
Hymns
[
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]
- En vanlig gronskas rika drakt
(1986) written in 1889
- Det gar ett tyst och taligt lamm (1921)
- Det ar sa tyst, han kampat ut
(Sanger och psalmer 1951)
written in 1889.
- Herren ar tillstades (
Kyrklig sang 1928
nr 25 b.)
- I livets bok, o Fader, skriv (1921)
- Jag nu den sakra grunden vunnit (1921)
- Nu dagen ar till anda (1986)
Hymn books
[
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]
- Andliga Sanger
(1898), samlingsverk.
- Fran Betlehem till Golgata
(1882), andliga sanger
- Vid juletid
(1887), psalmer
- I livets var
(1888)
- Kristna hogtids- och helgdagar
(1889), sanger och psalmer
Misc
[
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]
- Studier rorande reformerna inom den franska vitterheten under sextonde och nittonde seklen
(
Studies concerning the reforms in the French literature of the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries
) (1868)
- Utgav och skrev en biografisk inledning till E. Bjorcks "Valda dikter" (1869)
- Inledning till D. Klockhoffs "Efterlemnade skrifter" (1871).
- Prolog vid sallskapsspektaklet till forman for skandinavisk-etnografiska samlingen
(1879)
- Vid tvahundraarsfesten till
Calderons
minne
(1881)
- Sang over Esaias Tegner
(1882)
- Rafael
(1883)
- Sang vid Svenska akademiens hundraarsfest
(1886)
- Claes Livijn, ett sjalvstandigt bidrag till forskningen over Nya skolan
.
References
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]
External links
[
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]
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