Born: 26 October 1900, Sweden
Died: 21 April 1941
Country most active: Sweden
Also known as: NA
Although famed for her poetry in Swedish, Karin Boye is best known internationally for her 1940 dystopian science fiction novel Kallocain. The dystopian novel contrasts individual rights to freedom and independence against a collective society and the state’s need for control. It was adapted into a film in 1981 and has been translated into more than two dozen languages.
Boye published her first collection of poems, Moln (Clouds), in 1922 while studying at Uppsala University (1921-26). In both this collection and 1924’s Gömda land” (Hidden Lands) and 1927’s Härdarna (The Hearths), she explored the theme of the individual’s right to freedom in relation to christianity, as well as worship of beauty, fighting spirit and dynamic movement. För trädets skull (For the tree’s sake) was released in 1935 and De sju dödssynderna (The seven deadly sins), which was incomplete at the time of her death, was published posthumously in 1941. Her style is described as having a distinctive, idiosyncratic rhythmic form. She also translated many of T. S. Eliot’s works into Swedish and co-founded the poetry magazine Spektrum in 1931.
Although Boye was married to a man from 1929 to 1932, it is believed to have been a platonic relationship, and she had a relationship with another woman after separating from him. After going to Berlin for psychoanalysis following a bout of depression, she affirmed her identity as a lesbian. While there, she met Margot Hanel, and the two lived together for the rest of Boye’s life, with Boye referring to Hanel as her wife.
After years of dealing with depression and multiple suicide attempts, Boye ended her life in April 1941, and Hanel did as well the following month. Boye has spent almost a year caring for a friend with cancer.
A literary association dedicated to promoting her work was established in 1983, and a branch of the Uppsala University Library was named in her honor in 2004. There are also statues of her outside the Gothenburg City Library and in Huddinge.
Novels
Astarte, 1931
Merit vaknar, 1933
Crisis, 1934
För lite, 1936
Kallocain, 1940
Poetry collections
Moln, 1922
Gömda land, 1924
Härdarna, 1927
För trädets skull, 1935
De sju dödssynderna, 1941 (not completed, posthumously published)
Complete Poems in English, translated by David McDuff, 1994