Welcome to the inauguration of the memorial plaque for the poet and poet-philosopher Vilhem Ekelund
Stora Södergatan 47 (joint Stora Södergatan 45/47), at 14.00:14.30 p.m.–XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.
Bleckhornen plays, the chairman of the Ekelund Association, Jonas Ellerström, gives the opening speech and Per Erik Ljung reads a poem.
Vilhelm Ekelund grew up in Stehag but moved with his parents to Lund in 1894, where his father and mother ran a general store at Stora Södergatan 47. Ekelund graduated from Katedralskolan and appeared as a 16-year-old with poems in the daily press. He made his book debut in a student calendar in 1900 and published his first poetry collection in the same year.
In just a few years, Ekelund became Sweden's most noted young poet. From Lund, he went on trips to Europe, to Berlin and Venice. He begins as a melodic landscape poet, becomes a symbolist, and then turns to antiquity for inspiration. The collection Dithyramber i aftonglans from 1906 is a test of strength, but also Ekelund's last pure poetry collection.
He became an essayist and aphorist, a poet-philosopher who reflected on the essence of poetry and the human psyche. With astonishing consistency, he kept in book after book a journal of the movements of his own thoughts, commenting on centuries of philosophical and spiritual tradition. His audience became smaller but the content of his books deepened.
During the years 1908 to 1921, Ekelund lived in Germany and Denmark. On his return to Sweden, he settled with his family first in Helsingborg and from 1936 in Stockholm. He lived there until his death in 1949.
In 1939, the Vilhelm Ekelund Society was formed to serve as a publisher for Ekelund's writings. The society is still very active and has its base in Lund.