author
Hjalmar Johannes Runeberg
1874–1934
A Swedish-speaking Finnish poet, teacher, and translator, he moved between literature, scholarship, and public life with unusual range. Writing as Nino and sometimes as Alceste, he left behind poetry as well as a notable Swedish translation of the Bhagavad-Gita.
1 Audiobook
Dikter af Alceste
by Hjalmar Johannes Runeberg
About the author
Born in Rome on May 27, 1874, and later based in Finland, he was a Swedish-speaking Finnish writer and teacher from the distinguished Runeberg family. Sources describe him as a poet, literary scholar, and translator, and note that he spent his childhood and youth in Rome before living in Kauniainen from around 1900.
He published poetry under the name Nino and also used the pen name Alceste. His work included original verse and literary writing, and he is especially remembered for bringing the Bhagavad-Gita into Swedish in Bhagavad-Gita: Herrens Sång. Library and public-domain records also show collections such as Dikter and Dikter af Alceste.
Beyond his writing, he was active in the Esperanto movement in Finland and is identified as the first chair of the Finnish Esperanto association. He died in Helsinki on February 15, 1934.