This year’s Nobel laureate in literature Tomas Tranströmer (b. 1931) is Sweden’s most renowned contemporary poet. His poetry has been translated into some 60 languages, and has gained a following among many readers around the world, not least among other poets. The distinguished Chinese poet Bei Dao first read Tranströmer’s collection The Wild Market Square in 1983, and translated nine poems into Chinese, thus becoming Tranströmer’s first Chinese translator. Bei Dao will himself take part in this event and read his own translations, as well as sharing personal impressions of the poet and his work with us. The Reverend Lennart Hamark, who represents the Church of Sweden in China and Hong Kong, will read some of Tranströmer’s poetry in the Swedish original, while Professor Kingsley Bolton, Chair Professor of English at City University, will read English translations. The Swedish Consul-General in Hong Kong, Mr Jörgen Halldin, will talk about the significance of the Nobel Prize on the world academic and cultural stage. Professor Torbjörn Lodén from Stockholm University, who is currently Visiting Professor, and contributing to the scholarly collaboration between Stockholm University and City University, will discuss the importance of Tomas Tranströmer and his contribution to poetry.
An event co-organised by the Consulate General of Sweden, Hong Kong, and the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics and the Department of English at City University of Hong Kong. There will be a reception held outside the Wei Hing Theatre following the event.
