INTRODUCING
The Milky Way
Translated by Gunnel Larsdotter
Illustrated by Jamie Hogan
A beautiful translation of Vintergatan, a poem by Zacharias Topelius of two lovers, Sulamit & Salamye, who are separated by death and find a way to cross the Cosmos to be reunited.
“In high school, Gunnel Larsdotter, a native of Sweden and now a resident of Maine, fell in love with a poem by a 19th century journalist, poet, and scholar named Zacharias Topelius. She found her Swedish poetry anthology again as an adult, and was re-charmed by “Vintegatan.” She searched for an English translation to share with her English-speaking family, but none captured the beauty of the poem in Swedish as she heard it, so she translated it herself. “The Milky Way: Vintegatan”, translated by Larsdotter and atmospherically illustrated by Maine-based artist, Jamie Hogan, brings the poem to an English-speaking audience.*
Nina Maclaughlin
Boston Globe’s New England Literary News
About Gunnel
A native of Sweden, Gunnel Larsdotter moved from Stockholm at the age of 16 to Summit, NJ with her parents and siblings. After years of longing for her homeland, she visited Peaks Island, Maine in the late 60’s, where she finally felt at home and in love with the coastline of Casco Bay. After years of summering on the island with her children, she made it her permanent home in the late 80’s, and soon thereafter met and married the love of her life and soulmate. Together they have formed lifelong bonds of friendship with a host of wonderful and well-esteemed writers and illustrators from the island, including Jamie Hogan, whose work inspired her to bring her dream to life and translate this poem. Over the course of several years, she and Jamie wove the prose and art together with great delight, much like the way the Milky Way was fashioned by Salamye and Sulamit.
