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Irrbloss Folk Concert

Thu, Oct 06

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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.

Irrbloss Folk Concert
Irrbloss Folk Concert

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…

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