Tomten (poem)
| Tomten | |
|---|---|
| by Viktor Rydberg | |
Title illustration by Jenny Nyström 1881 | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Publication date | 1881 |
"Tomten" ("The Tomte"), also known as "Midvinternattens köld är hård" ("The Cold of Midwinter Night is Harsh"), is a poem written by Viktor Rydberg, and originally published in Ny Illustrerad Tidning in 1881. While outwardly being an idyllic Christmas poem, the poem asks about the meaning of life.
A short film, Tomten, was recorded in 1941 by Gösta Roosling, where Hilda Borgström reads the entire poem.[1]
Lotta Engberg's 2009 Christmas album Jul hos mig closes with a final, hidden, bonus track with Sven Wollter reading the poem.[2]
The poem has also been recorded as an audio book, with Torgny Lindgren reading it.[3][4]
In English
Rydberg's poem has been translated into English by Charles Wharton Stork,[5] Anna Krook,[6] Elias Gordon[7] Judith Moffett.[8] In 1960 Astrid Lindgren published a prose version of the story with illustrations by Harald Wiberg.[9][10] Both films based on her Tomten stories were made: Tomte Tummetott and the Fox in 2007,[11] and The Tomten and the Fox in 2019.[12]
American Translation
An American translation of Tomten was published as a children's book in 2017 by Spencer Harden,[13] illustrated by Georgia Stylou.[14] An audio version of the children's book [15] was recorded in 2018, narrated by American Hercules actor Kevin Sorbo, who is of Scandinavian heritage.
Set to music
- Julens önskesångbok, 1997, under the lines "Traditionella julsånger", with music by Lyyli Wartiovaara-Kallioniemi.
See also
References
- ^ Hilda Borgström reads Tomten youtube.com Retrieved: December 29, 2013.
- ^ "Jul hos mig" (in Swedish). Svensk mediedatabas. 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- ^ Viktor Rydberg, Torgny Lindgren (2003). Tomten. Pan hörböcker.
- ^ Torgny Lindgren reads Tomten youtube.com Retrieved: December 29, 2013.
- ^ Anthology of Swedish lyrics by Charles Wharton Stork (New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1917).
- ^ Songs of the North by Anna Krook (Helsingfors, Söderström & Co., 1926).
- ^ Bards of the North by Elias Gordon (New York: American Cultural Federation Press, 1936).
- ^ The North! to the North! by Judith Moffett (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2001).
- ^ The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren (New York: Coward-McCann, 1960).
- ^ Astrid Lindgren adaptation youtube.com Retrieved: December 31, 2013.
- ^ "Tomte Tummetott és a róka / Tomte Tummetott and the Fox".
- ^ "Reven og nissen".
- ^ [https://www.amazon.in/stores/inkauthor/B07VD8D9PJ/about Tomten as told by Spencer Harden
- ^ [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/01692888896/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PISkbPcskqA