Bo Carpelan
Humanist of the day

Bo Carpelan

Bo Carpelan was a writer, honorary arts professor and influential in library affairs. His extensive written oeuvre included everything from four-word poems to novels and a doctoral thesis. The bulk of his works were written during his time as a full-time librarian in the Helsinki City Library. Carpelan is one of the best loved and most feted Finns writing in Swedish of all time.

Bo Carpelan

Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan
Born October 25, 1926, Helsinki. Died February 11, 2011, Espoo.

Master of Arts (Literature), 1948, Licentiate of Philosophy, 1956, Doctor of Philosophy, 1960, University of Helsinki
Library Diploma, School of Social Sciences, Tampere
Studies in France (1951), United States (1961), England (1962)

Honorary Arts Professor, 1980–1993
Study counsellor, 1950-59; section librarian 1960–64; Assistant librarian, 1964–80, Helsinki City Library
Literary reviewer, 1949–64, Huvudstadsbladet newspaper
Board Member, Finlands svenska författareförening (Society of Swedish writers in Finland), 1950–70
Finnish representative, Nordic Council of Ministers, 1965–71

Honours
Le Prix Européen de Littérature, 2007
Svenska Akademiens nordiska pris (Ruotsi) 1997
Finlandia Prize 1993, 2005
Suomen runoilijaliiton Vuoden runoilija (Finnish poetry association, poet of the year) 1993
National award for translation, 1986
Karl Emil Tollander prize 1983
Pro Finlandia (award for non-fiction), 1978
Nordic Council Literature Prize, 1977
Nuorisokirjallisuuden valtionpalkinto (’ Young writers’ national award’) 1969, 1989
Valtion kirjallisuuspalkinto (’National award for writing’) 1967, 1972, 1987, 1989

Photo: Schildts & Söderströms
Written by Tomas Sjöblom
Translated by John Calton

Library assistant to deputy head librarian

The son of an impecunious bank clerk, Bo Carpelan enrolled in the University of Helsinki to study literature in 1944. Even whilst he was studying he worked among books – first in the Academic Bookstore and then in the City Library in Rikhardinkatu street. He was to work among library books for some time.

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Minimalist poems, then books for children and novels

Bo Carpelan began his writing with Som en dunkel värme (‘Like dark warmth’, 1946), a poetry collection published when he was just twenty. The Swedish-language Finnish literature of the day was looking for exemplars, especially from the Swedish modernist movement of the 1940s known as fyrtiolism, and French existentialism.

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