Östen Sjöstrand

Östen Sjöstrand (16 June 1925 in Gothenburg – 13 May 2006) was a Swedish poet, writer and translator. He became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1975 and was a member of the Academy's Nobel committee between 1979 and 1990.

Biography Östen Sjöstrand gave his introductory speech in the Swedish Academy about the Swedish writer Pär Lagerkvist, who preceded him at the same chair. As a poet he debuted in 1949 with Unio, which was marked by the post-war agony of the Swedish 1940s poetry. He was above all inspired of French poetry. Music was another source of inspiration for Östen Sjöstrand. In cooperation with Sven-Erik Bäck he wrote a pair of operas, including Gästabudet.