April 4
Swedish-speaking Finnish poet Edith Södergran was born on April 4 in 1892 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Södergran was one of the first modernists within the Swedish language, and her literary legacy continues to be strong. She has influenced writers like Mare Kandre and musicians like Eva Dahlgren. Södergran went to an intellectually stimulating school in Saint Petersburg, situated opposite the Winter Palace. She made the decision to make Swedish her main language despite the fact that she received no instruction in Swedish. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis early on, and much of her poetry is marked by her illness. Her debut came in 1916, when her book “Dikter” was published to little notice. In fact, it took many years for her to gain recognition. Of her poems, some of the most well-known are “Svart eller vitt” ("Black or White"), “Ingenting” ("Nothing"), “Min barndoms träd” ("My Childhood's Trees") and “Landet som icke är” ("The Land which is not"). Her most quoted poem is probably “Dagen svalnar...” ("The Day Cools...") which deals with feelings such as longing, fear, closeness and distance. Edith Södergran died in 1923. A stanza from “Dagen svalnar…” reads like this in Swedish and in English:

Du sökte en blomma
och fann en frukt.
Du sökte en källa
och fann ett hav.
Du sökte en kvinna
och fann en själ—
du är besviken.

You looked for a flower
and found a fruit.
You looked for a well
and found a sea.
You looked for a woman
and found a soul—
You are disappointed.

April 15
Poet Tomas Tranströmer was born on April 15 in 1931 in Stockholm. He was the recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature. Tranströmer is regarded as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since WWII, and his poetry has been translated into over 60 languages. Critics have praised Tranströmer poems for their accessibility, for capturing the long Swedish winters and the beauty of nature. His work is also characterized by a sense of mystery and wonder underlying the routine of everyday life. He is sometimes described as a Christian poet. Tranströmer was raised by his mother, following a divorce from his father. Tranströmer studied at Stockholm University, and graduated as a psychologist in 1956. Tranströmer suffered a stroke in 1990 that left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak; however, he would continue to write and publish poetry. In addition to his writing, Tranströmer is also a piano player. Among his books of poetry are: “17 dikter” (his debut in 1954), “Sanningsbarriären,” and “Den stora gåtan.” Here’s a stanza from “April och tystnad” (“April and Silence”) in both Swedish and English.

Våren ligger öde.
Det sammetsmörka diket
krälar vid min sida
utan spegelbilder.

Spring lies deserted.
The velvet-dark ditch
crawls by my side
without reflections.

April 18
Dance and ballet choreographer Mats Ek was born on April 18, 1945 in Malmö, the son of actor Anders Ek and choreographer Birgit Cullberg. He is the twin brother of actress Malin Ek. Mats Ek joined the Cullberg Ballet in 1972, but he also danced and choreographed for other companies. He created “Sleeping Beauty” for the Hamburg Ballet (1996), “A Sort Of” for the Nederlands Dans Theater (1997), and “Appartement” for the Paris Opera (2000). Several of Mats Ek's ballets have been adapted for television; two of them received Emmy awards. Ek is also acclaimed for his choreographic theater works—“Don Giovanni” (1999) and “Andromaque” (2001) at the Royal Dramatic Theatre being two of them. With his choreography FLUKE, which premiered in November 2002 at Dansens Hus in Stockholm, Mats Ek once again created a work for the Cullberg Ballet, this time in cooperation with the music ensemble Flesh Quartet. In some of Ek's former choreographies, traditions of Kurt Jooss and of his mother, Birgit Cullberg may be apparent. He uses classical as well as modern dance techniques. Social engagement of psychological dilemmas combined with subtle humor, form the basis of his choreographies. For Ek, movement is a means of individual expression; aesthetic value is not his first priority.

April 25
Actress Anita Björk was born on April 25 in 1923 in Tällberg. She attended The Royal Dramatic Theater’s acting school (Dramatens elevskola as it was known then), from 1942 to 1945. For many years, Björk has been a leading lady of Swedish theater; since 1945 she has worked at the national stage Dramaten, where she has performed in more than 100 roles over the years, which makes her one of the greatest actors at that theater. But Björk has also done a lot of film work. Her most famous part is probably the title role in Alf Sjöberg's celebrated film adaption of Strindberg's “Miss Julie” (1951) that was awarded the grand prize at Cannes Film Festival. She was married to Olof Bergström from 1945 to 1951, and since 1953 with famous author Stig Dagerman. After Dagerman’s suicide she had a relationship with Graham Greene. In 2009, she performed in A.R. Gurney’s play “Kärleksbrev” (“Love Letters”) opposite Jan-Olof Strandberg at Dramaten’s Lilla Scen.