#Uhmilli Dikeanssohn

[aselectsociety]

Unbeknownst, Poetry Month 4.8

For National Poetry Month, I’ll be spotlighting poet friends and relatives of famous poets.  

Today’s spotlight is on poet Uhmilli Dikeanssöhn, Sweden's preeminent poet and a distant relative of Emily Dickinson.   

Uhmilli Dikeanssöhn was the great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of Edvin Gunnbjörg Dikeanssöhn, a whittler and palingwright (a maker of wooden fencing).  A contemporary branch of the Dikeanssöhn family owns and operates IKEA, the home furnishings company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (originally out of fencing slats).                          

Since Uhmilli Dikeanssöhn's family owned and operated IKEA furniture marts, many of her poems deal with furniture and furniture making; the classic poem below by Uhmilli Dikeanssöhn , about the beds sold at IKEA furniture marts, translates as shown below.

Uhmilli Dikeanssöhn was a great inspiration to Emily Dickinson, and her poem inspired Dickinson to pen the poem shown below: