Akesson, Sonja (1926–1977)

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Akesson, Sonja (1926–1977)

Swedish poet. Name variations: Akeson or Åkeson; (full name) Sonja Berta Maria Hammarberg Akesson. Born in Buttle, Gotland, Sweden, in 1926; died in 1977; grew up on the island of Gotland; married.

Upon moving to Stockholm in 1951, Sonja Akesson began writing of her childhood and everyday domestic conditions. Her first collection of poems Situationer (Situations, 1957) was published six years later. It was followed by Leva livet (Living Life, 1961), Husfrid (Peace in the House, 1963), Pris (Prize, 1968), and Sagan om Siv (The Saga of Siv, 1974). Known for her sizzling critiques of society, she disparaged the role of a housewife in "Be White Man's Slave" (1963). Her major poem "Autobiography (reply to Ferlinghetti)" was written in 1963.