“Since then I have worn “Aniara”, partly as a literary work, but also as a warning to humanity about what can happen if we don’t take responsibility for this globe, Pohjanen tells SVT.
According to Pohjanen, one of the challenges with the translation is that the Swedish words are much shorter than the words in Meänkieli, which means that the lines tend to be too long.
The minority language spoken in eastern Norrbotten has long been on the verge of extinction and Bengt Pohjanen has for many years worked for its preservation.
The translation will be published in 600 copies.
— Someone has said that translating such a work as “Aniara” is alchemy. You have to turn gold into gold, says Bengt Pohjanen.