Karin Allardt Ekelund


Karin Allardt Ekelund was a Swedish-speaking Finnish literary historian and pedagogue. Her parents were schoolmaster and writer Anders Allardt and art teacher Johanna Elisabet Strömborg. In 1937 she married the artist Ragnar Ekelund.
She dedicated her life to studying Fredrika Runeberg. Her doctoral dissertation from 1943 was titled Fredrika Runeberg. En biografisk och litteraturhistorisk studie. The work was translated into Finnish by Helmer Winter and E. A. Saarimaa in 1945, and an abridged version adapted by Clara Snellman-Borenius was published in 1957. She was an active advocate of Swedish identity in Finland and worked for justice, women’s rights, peace, and a better future in a society free from fear.

Career and education

Allardt Ekelund graduated from the Privata svenska fruntimmerskolan in Porvoo in 1914. She attended the University of Helsinki, receiving her Candidate of Philosophy degree in 1928, her Licentiate of Philosophy in 1942, and her Doctor of Philosophy in 1943.
Her career began as a proofreader for the Holger Schildt publishing house from 1918 to 1928. She then worked as a teacher of Swedish and history at Tölö svenska samskola from 1930 to 1942, serving as the school's rector from 1933 to 1937. She later taught at Laguska skolan from 1942 to 1960. From 1952 to 1965, she was the curator of the J.L. Runeberg Home Museum in Porvoo. She was also on the board of the Society of Swedish Authors in Finland during the 1930s.

Awards and honours

Works

Writings

Fredrika Runeberg. En biografisk och litteraturhistorisk studie. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto. 1942..Ludvig Mikael Runeberg. En kameskärare under förra seklet. Helsinki. 1950..I Spanien. Drawings by Ragnar Ekelund. Helsinki. 1962.Traneplogar. Porvoo. 1977.

Translations

  • Bahr, Hermann. Teater. En wienroman. Helsinki. 1919.
  • Mann, Thomas. Underbarnet. Helsinki. 1920.
  • Keyserling, E. von. En stilla vrå. Helsinki. 1921..
  • Dominik, Hans. Den hemlighetsfulla kraften. En roman från år 1955. Helsinki. 1924.
  • Reinheimer, Sophie. Om sol och regn och himmelens vindar. Illustrated by Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. Helsinki & Uppsala. 1925.
  • Holst, Bertha. Henriks syster Mariotta. Helsinki & Stockholm. 1926.

Edited works

  • Strömborg, J.E. Biografiska anteckningar om Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Supplementband 1860–1877. Prepared by Allardt based on Strömborg's posthumous diary entries. Helsinki. 1927.
  • Strömborg, J.E. Biografiska anteckningar om Johan Ludvig Runeberg. 1–3. 1804–1837. Helsinki. 1928.
  • Strömborg, J.E. Biografiska anteckningar om Johan Ludvig Runeberg. 4:1. 1837–1845. Helsinki. 1929.
  • Strömborg, J.E. Biografiska anteckningar om Johan Ludvig Runeberg 4:2. Helsinki. 1931.G. Montgomerys egenhändiga beskrifning öfver sin resa till Finland. With annotations by Karin Allardt. Helsinki. 1931..
  • Allardt, Anders. Byberättelser. Selected by Karin Allardt Ekelund. Porvoo. 1944.
  • Runeberg, Fredrika. Teckningar och drömmar. Selected by Karin Allardt Ekelund. Tampere. 1944.
  • Runeberg, Fredrika. Anteckningar om Runeberg. Min pennas saga. Helsinki. 1946..Folkliv i finlandssvensk diktning. Selection and introduction. Tampere. 1951.Från Tavaststjerna till Dagerman. Ett prosaurval. Helsinki. 1958.
  • Wecksell, Josef Julius. Samlade dikter. With introduction and commentary. Turku. 1962..
  • Strömborg, Johan Elias. Runebergs hem i Borgå. Porvoo. 1963.Frans Michael Franzéns Åbodiktning. Selection and introduction. Porvoo. 1969..
  • Runeberg, Fredrika. Brev till sonen Walter 1861–1879. Köpenhamn, Rom, Paris. Introduction and commentary. Porvoo. 1971..