Born in 1939, Goran Sonnevi is one of the leading poets and translators of Sweden. Trained as a librarian, he has dedicated his life to poetry and has written fifteen books. In 1983 he received a lifetime grant from the Swedish government, bestowed on 125 artists in honor of their contributions to the nation's culture. In 2006, he won the Literature Prize of the Nordic Council, known as the "little Nobel," for which he had been previously nominated five times. Sonnevi resides outside of Stockholm.