About Sun Axelsson
Lived 1935 – 2011 (aged 75). Sun Axelsson was a Swedish translator, journalist, literary critic, poet, writer and screenwriter.
Sun Axelsson (19 August 1935 in Gothenburg, Sweden – 14 January 2011 in Stockholm ) was a Swedish poet, novelist, translator and journalist.
Life Axelsson was the youngest daughter of the master gardener Karl Edvin Axelsson and Mignon Axelsson. She went to school in her home town of Gothenburg and then she continued at the University of Stockholm where she took a graduate degree in teaching and journalism.
As reporter she worked for the literary review magazines BLM and Ord and Bild, and also in daily newspapers: Expressen, Aftonbladet and Stockholms-Tidningen.
In 1959, Axelsson debuted with her first collection of poetry: Goalless (Mållös), and then she travelled extensively, with lengthy stays in Latin America, France and Greece.
She spent the whole of 1960 in Chile, and developed a relationship with the Chilean poet Nicanor Parra. While living in Santiago she also formed a close friendship with Nobel Prize–winning poet Pablo Neruda. The events of her time in Chile and her personal experience of them are portrayed in The cradle of fire (Eldens vagga).
Later, she wrote Stones in the mouth (Stenar i munnen), published under the male pseudonym Jan Olov Hedlund, describing the terror and repression of Greece under the military junta. and Honey wolves (Honungsvargar).
Axelsson translated into Swedish a remarkable number of authors, among them: Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, Jorge Luis Borges, Harold Pinter, Yiannis Ritsos, Octavio Paz, Sergio Badilla Castillo and Juan Cameron.
The author's trilogy which began with A dreamed life (Drömmen om ett liv, 1978), and finished with The night season (Nattens arstid, 1989) was bestowed with numerous awards, from places such as the Swedish Academy as well as from several international cultural institutions.
Work Jag har en själ i Paris (My soul in Paris. 1990) novel Vindarnas barn (The boy of the winds. 1991) novel Ljusets hotell (Clarity Hotel. 1991), poetry collection Den första kärleken (The first love. 1991) short stories Tystnad och eko (Silence and echo. 1994) novel Svalornas tid (Time of swallows. 1996) short stories Sand. (1997) poetry collection Eget liv (Own life 2000) novel Drömmen om ett liv (A dreamed Life) novel Honungsvargar (Honey wolves) novel Nattens årstid (The night season) novel Evighetens stränder (Eternity ends. 2001), novel
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Important facts
People in Sun Axelsson's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Sun Axelsson's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Sun Axelsson?
Swedish writer (1935-2011)
When was Sun Axelsson born?
Sun Axelsson was born on 10 August 1935 in Oscar Fredriks församling.
When did Sun Axelsson die?
Sun Axelsson died on 14 January 2011 in Högalid Parish.
What was Sun Axelsson's occupation?
Sun Axelsson was a translator, journalist, literary critic, poet, writer and screenwriter.
What nationality was Sun Axelsson?
Sun Axelsson was Swedish.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Sun Axelsson. https://biography.guide/sun-axelsson/
MLA: "Sun Axelsson." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/sun-axelsson/.
Chicago: "Sun Axelsson." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/sun-axelsson/.
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