1894–1941.
Theologian, writer.
Anita Nathorst was active in the Christian student and high school movement and friends with Karin Boye who called her her "spiritual mother". Boye had love for her, but it was an unrequited love.
Nathorst studied in Uppsala and became the first female B.A.. Lic. In Church history. In 1926 her poetry collection was published.
Nathorst suffered from breast cancer early and was treated by doctor Iwan Bratt in Alingsås. They began a love affair in the mid-1930s. However, the love affair ended and Nathorst got an apartment in Skåne. Until it was free, it was a difficult time for her in Bratt's home and Karin Boye then served as a support for her.
Anita Nathorst died at Malmö Nursing home in the summer of 1941, just a few months after Karin Boye.
The following poem, written by Karin Boye, is called "How can I say..." which is in the posthumously published collection The Seven Deadly Sins and other left over poems. The collection was published in 1941 and the poem is directed at Anita.
How can I tell if your voice is beautiful.
I know only that it pierces me
And make me tremble like a leaf
And tearing me apart and blows me up.
What do I know about your skin and your limbs.
It just shakes me that they are yours,
So that for me there is no sleep or rest,
Until they are mine.
Burial site: 0101-0051
Image description: Anita Nathorst, unknown year. Photo: Unknown photographer / From private collection. [The image is cropped]
Click here for an uncropped image
