Bo Carpelan

Who was Bo Carpelan?

Baron Bo Gustaf Bertelsson Carpelan was a Finnish poet and author. He published his first book of poems in 1946, and received his Ph.D. in 1960. Carpelan, who wrote in Swedish, composed numerous books of verse, as well as several novels and short stories. Carpelan died of cancer on 11 February 2011.

In 1997, he won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize, known as the 'little Nobel'. He is the only person yet to have received the Finlandia Prize twice. He won the 2006 European Prize for Literature. His poem, Winter was Hard, was set to music by composer Aulis Sallinen.

He was a member of the Finnish noble family Carpelan.