Reidar Ekner

Reidar Ekner (b. in Gävle, Sweden in 1929) is a Swedish writer, critic and scholar, since 1997 living in Bö in Telemark, Norway. He is the father of two daughters.

Ekner has published more than thirty books, among them ten books of poetry, two books of essays, and some fifteen translations. His poetry is characterized by Buddhist and "Green" influences, mixed with social criticism in books such as Halvvägs (Half-Way, 1979) and Under trädkronorna (Under the Tree Crowns, 1987). His best known poetry book Efter flera tusen rad (1974), was published in Germany as Klage um die Tochter (Heiderhoff, 1987). It is also translated into Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, and Norwegian.

As a scholar, he has done research on the Swedish philosopher Hans Larsson (1862-1932), and the Swedish poet and modernist Gunnar Ekelöf (1907-1968). He is the editor of Ekelöf's Skrifter (Works) in 9 vols. 1991-1993.

Among writers he has translated into Swedish are Herman Melville, D.H. Lawrence, Robert Walser, Lu Hsün, Djuna Barnes, Nathanael West, Denise Levertov, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, and John Gardner.

His new book Kalenderdikter 1974-2006 was published in 2006.