Irrbloss Folk Concert
Thu, Oct 06
|Wallenberg Hall, Denkmann Building
Swedish folk musicians Maja Heurling and Ola Sandström who will present the poetry of Signe Aurell, a Swedish immigrant and labor activist. This performance will feature songs based on the poetry of Aurell, as well as stories from her life in both Sweden and Minnesota.
Time & Location
Oct 06, 2022, 7:00 PM CDT
Wallenberg Hall, Denkmann Building, 3520 7th Ave, Rock Island, IL 61201, USA
About the Event
Join us for a special performance by Swedish folk musicians Maja Heurling and Ola Sandström who will present the poetry of Signe Aurell, a Swedish immigrant and labor activist. This performance will feature songs based on the poetry of Aurell, as well as stories from her life in both Sweden and Minnesota.
More than a century ago, Signe Aurell traveled alone from Sweden to Minnesota where she worked as a laundress and seamstress. In 1919, she self-published a series of Swedish-language poems that explored feelings of homesickness and the struggle for a brighter future. Titled Irrbloss—meaning Will-o’-the-Wisp—this collection of poetry remained mostly unknown until Marcus Cederström, Community Curator of Nordic-American folklore for the Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest Project, wrote a dissertation about Signe.
Musicians Maja Heurling and Ola Sandström then collaborated to set music to a selection of poems from Irrbloss, blending folk stylings and the…