FINDING AID
John E. Nelson poetry, 1952
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
John E. Nelson poetry
Collection Number:
SAC P:52
Dates:
1952 and undated
Size:
1 folder
Language:
Swedish (bulk), English
Creator/Collector:
Nelson, John E., 1883-1972
Subject Headings:
Poetry--Swedish.
Swedish American poetry
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
Collection of bound typewritten poems titled “Verses” written by John E. Nelson of Minnesota and North Dakota. The poems were all originally published in various Swedish-American newspapers around the turn of the century (from about 1897 to 1907). Collection includes introduction of autobiographical information written in 1952.
RIGHTS AND ACCESS
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open for research.
Reproduction and Use:
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Swenson Center and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation:
[item identification], in SAC P:52 John E. Nelson poetry, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Provenance:
Donated by John E. Nelson in 1952 to Augustana College library. Originally cataloged in Scandinaviana library collections.
Source of Acquisition:
Transferred to the Swenson Center by Augustana College library in fall 1981.
Processed By:
Processed by Kermit Westerberg in 1983. Finding aid written by Center staff circa 2006. Finding aid updated by Lisa Huntsha in 2018.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
John E. Nelson was born in Stockholm, Minnesota in 1883. He attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota between 1905 and 1907. In 1907, he won an oration contest against Bethany College, which was later published in Ungdomsvännen.
In 1908, he settled in North Dakota and was editor of the Litchville Bulletin, Page Progress and other papers. Most of Nelson’s poetry can be found in the columns of the Swedish-American press and more than 100 of his English language poems and his autobiography are preserved at the American Swedish Institutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Note: This John E. Nelson is not to be confused with another by the same name who also wrote poetry, but was born in Sweden and served as pastor in the Augustana Lutheran Synod.
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of a typed booklet collection of Swedish poems titled “Verses” by John E. Nelson. The poems were all originally published in the various Swedish-American newspapers around the turn of the century (from about 1897 to 1907), such as Hemlandet, Linnaean, Ungdomsvännen, Svenska Amerikanska Posten, Duluth Posten, Svenska Nyheter, Svenska Folkets Tidning, Michigan Posten and others. The booklet also includes an introduction of autobiographical information in English, written 1952.