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Heartwork: Selected Short Stories
Solveig von Schoultz's ideal short story is "like a waterdrop that reflects the whole of human existence." Her insights are penetrating, recapturing things we have forgotten or portraying feelings we would rather not acknowledge. What makes her stories exceptional, however, is the compassion that permeates them. The stories move from youth to old age, beginning with young Ansa, forced to acknowledge that grown-ups can't hear the needs and voices of inanimate objects and don't know that "the slightest little dot on an i can beg to be fatter as you write, and your whole body feels wrong until you have obeyed." Then there is Eva, an adolescent who goes to see the father who deserted her and discovers a stranger. "The girl," is a little older, struggling with the baby she didn't expect, while the narrator of "Report" is a middle-aged wife and mother whose interactions with a homeless man cause her to realize that "even if I took all I had and shared it with Pulli, it would count for nothing... Not so long as I close my eyes at the door, so that I don't have to look at him." The last three stories describe women with adult children and difficult marriages, whose lives are filled with reconsideration and reflection and whose futures offer both hope and frustration. Even the painful stories carry a deep, calm beauty; there is a sense that these moments are miracles, if only because they are a part of life.
- GenresShort Stories
128 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 1989
17 people want to read
About the author
Solveig von Schoultz
50 books5 followersSolveig Margareta von Schoultz (5 August 1907 – 3 December 1996) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish writer and teacher. She wrote poetry, children's novels, short stories, plays, and television and radio dramas.
Solveig von Schoultz was born in Porvoo in 1907 to Albert Segerstråle, a reverend, and Hanna Frosterus-Segerstråle, a painter. She was the youngest of eight children. She studied at the Nykarleby Seminarium during 1925–26, where she qualified as a primary school teacher. She worked as a freelance journalist for the Swedish-language newspaper Borgåbladet. In 1931, she married Sven von Schoultz, a lawyer, and took his surname under which she would publish for the rest of her career. She worked as a schoolteacher at Laguska Skolan, a private girls' school in Helsinki, from 1937 until 1972. In 1961, she divorced Sven von Schoultz and later married the Finnish composer Erik Bergman. She had two daughters, Ursula and Barbara.
von Schoultz made her writing debut in 1932 with the children's book Petra och silverapan. However, she was best known for her poetry; she published 15 collections of poems between 1940 and 1996. Her first collection of poems, published in 1940, was titled Min timme, and her final collection, published in 1996, was titled Molnskuggan. The themes addressed in her poetry include existential issues, womanhood and motherhood. She also wrote numerous short stories, dealing mainly with love and relationships, which were published in anthologies including Ingenting ovanligt (1947), Den blomstertid (1958) and Kolteckning ofullbordad (1983).
von Schoultz won numerous awards for her writing: the Svenska Dagbladet Literature Prize in 1947, the Swedish Academy of Finland Award in 1970, the Edith Södergran Prize in 1984, the Bellman Prize in 1986, the Nils Ferlin Prize in 1988, the Längmanska Prize in 1993, and the Samfundet De Nio Special Prize in 1996. Additionally, she won the Kirjallisuuden valtionpalkinto (State Literary Award) five times, and was awarded an honorary PhD degree by the University of Helsinki in 1986. She published her memoirs, titled Längs vattenbrynet, in 1996, the same year that she died.
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solveig_...)
As a writer of poetry, short stories, and plays, Solveig von Schoultz is considered as one of the most outstanding artists of the Swedish language.
(from http://allpoetry.com/Solveig-von-Scho...)
Solveig von Schoultz was born in Porvoo in 1907 to Albert Segerstråle, a reverend, and Hanna Frosterus-Segerstråle, a painter. She was the youngest of eight children. She studied at the Nykarleby Seminarium during 1925–26, where she qualified as a primary school teacher. She worked as a freelance journalist for the Swedish-language newspaper Borgåbladet. In 1931, she married Sven von Schoultz, a lawyer, and took his surname under which she would publish for the rest of her career. She worked as a schoolteacher at Laguska Skolan, a private girls' school in Helsinki, from 1937 until 1972. In 1961, she divorced Sven von Schoultz and later married the Finnish composer Erik Bergman. She had two daughters, Ursula and Barbara.
von Schoultz made her writing debut in 1932 with the children's book Petra och silverapan. However, she was best known for her poetry; she published 15 collections of poems between 1940 and 1996. Her first collection of poems, published in 1940, was titled Min timme, and her final collection, published in 1996, was titled Molnskuggan. The themes addressed in her poetry include existential issues, womanhood and motherhood. She also wrote numerous short stories, dealing mainly with love and relationships, which were published in anthologies including Ingenting ovanligt (1947), Den blomstertid (1958) and Kolteckning ofullbordad (1983).
von Schoultz won numerous awards for her writing: the Svenska Dagbladet Literature Prize in 1947, the Swedish Academy of Finland Award in 1970, the Edith Södergran Prize in 1984, the Bellman Prize in 1986, the Nils Ferlin Prize in 1988, the Längmanska Prize in 1993, and the Samfundet De Nio Special Prize in 1996. Additionally, she won the Kirjallisuuden valtionpalkinto (State Literary Award) five times, and was awarded an honorary PhD degree by the University of Helsinki in 1986. She published her memoirs, titled Längs vattenbrynet, in 1996, the same year that she died.
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solveig_...)
As a writer of poetry, short stories, and plays, Solveig von Schoultz is considered as one of the most outstanding artists of the Swedish language.
(from http://allpoetry.com/Solveig-von-Scho...)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 31, 2017
Seven short stories make up this volume, and all have to do with misunderstandings and people uncomfortable within their own skins in their own environments. Many feature aging--whether the person aging is a child or someone on the cusp of old age, the fear, nervousness, and change are similar.
My favorite of the stories is Hosanna. A young girl (probably 5-7?) who believes everything around her tells her to do things--trees want her to say hi, her shoes want to have a quick chat and not be tied to tight. As she communes with everything speaking with her, she is always late to school, and on this one special day (the day of Hosanna) she has tried so hard to make it on time, ignoring so many of her "friends" on the way. After the ceremony, and after being lectures by a teacher, she goes outside and can't seem to hear the requests any more. Her friends have gone.
My favorite of the stories is Hosanna. A young girl (probably 5-7?) who believes everything around her tells her to do things--trees want her to say hi, her shoes want to have a quick chat and not be tied to tight. As she communes with everything speaking with her, she is always late to school, and on this one special day (the day of Hosanna) she has tried so hard to make it on time, ignoring so many of her "friends" on the way. After the ceremony, and after being lectures by a teacher, she goes outside and can't seem to hear the requests any more. Her friends have gone.
February 13, 2018
terjemahannya. hmmm
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews