Biography
Birgitta and her husband live north of San Francisco, in a house on a hill, overlooking the ocean. When not writing, she walks along the bluff and up into the forest, alone or with friends. Tutoring local children keeps her grounded.
She studied Swedish, English and German Literature, earning Master’s Degrees from the University of Lund, Sweden, and the University of California at Davis. While covering the San Francisco art beat as a contributing editor for Art & Auction in New York, she also wrote Artful Players, a book on early California art, published by Balcony Press.
“One must know the world so well before one can know the parish.”
Turning to fiction, she drew on memories of her native Sweden, where she spent her childhood summers in a village much like the one we encounter in Fylgia. Sarah Orne Jewett’s words to Willa Cather still hold true: “Of course, one day you will write about your own country. In the meantime, get all you can. One must know the world so well before one can know the parish.”
Journal
by Birgitta Hjalmarson
The Great Brännvin Row. Before Fylgia (5).
Journal by Birgitta Hjalmarson Before Fylgia, there was another story, told by the villagers themselves. Many of my readers have asked about it, and so I decided to post it here. This is the fifth installment. Not yet fiction, it occupies a...
Before Fylgia (4).
Journal by Birgitta Hjalmarson Before Fylgia, there was another story, told by the villagers themselves. Many of my readers have asked about it, and so I decided to post it here. This is the fourth installment. Not yet fiction, it occupies...
Emir. The Swedish Ardennes.
Journal by Birgitta Hjalmarson A shorter version of this post was first published by Women Writers, Women Books at http://www.booksbywomen.org.They named him Emir, after those powerful Arab rulers. He was an Ardennes draft horse, a roan gelding...