Read on Twitter
A thread for Finnish-Swedish poet Edith Södergran.
Feminist, cat lover, rumored bisexual, goddess of the mic drop ending.
“you are disappointed.”
#womenintranslation
Feminist, cat lover, rumored bisexual, goddess of the mic drop ending.
“you are disappointed.”
#womenintranslation
During her lifetime, Södergran’s work was mocked and dismissed by the Swedish literary establishment. She died in abject poverty at 31, having lived more than half her life battling terminal illness (tuberculosis).
“sundown!”
“sundown!”
Many of her poems deal with themes of chronic pain/illness.
She’s one of Sweden’s first modernists and is a major poet there, with her work frequently taught in high schools, although she remains little known outside Scandinavia.
“The water is full of secrets!”
She’s one of Sweden’s first modernists and is a major poet there, with her work frequently taught in high schools, although she remains little known outside Scandinavia.
“The water is full of secrets!”
All translations by Samuel Charters.
Here’s “We Women”—which boasts one of Södergran‘s most epic mic drops—in parallel text.
“Om mitt barn icke lever, är det hans...”
Here’s “We Women”—which boasts one of Södergran‘s most epic mic drops—in parallel text.
“Om mitt barn icke lever, är det hans...”
“love, solitude, and the face of death.”
“Somewhere in space my heart hangs,
sparks streaming from it, shaking the air,
to other measureless hearts.”
/end
sparks streaming from it, shaking the air,
to other measureless hearts.”
/end
