It
by Inger Christensen
2021-01-20 10:05:49
it is the masterwork by Danish poet Inger Christensen (a true singer of the syllables," said C. D. Wright), often cited as a Nobel contender and one of Europe''s most revered poets. On its publication in 1969, it took Denmark by storm, winning criti...
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it is the masterwork by Danish poet Inger Christensen (a true singer of the syllables," said C. D. Wright), often cited as a Nobel contender and one of Europe''s most revered poets. On its publication in 1969, it took Denmark by storm, winning critical praise and becoming a huge popular favorite. Translated into many languages, it won international acclaim and is now a classic of modern Scandinavian poetry. it is both a collection of poems and a single poetic epic, forming a philosophical statement on the nature of language, perception, and reality. The subject matter, though, is down to earth: amoebas, stones, and factories; fear, sea urchins, and mental institutions; sand, sexuality, and song. The words and images of it recur in ways reminiscent of Christensen''s other works, but here is a younger poetry, wilder, and crackling with energy. The marvelous and complex use of mathematical structure in it is faithfully captured in Susanna Nied''s English translation, which won a 2005 PEN Translation Fund Award. "
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