The Dream We Carry: Selected and Last Poems of Olav Hauge (Norwegian and English Edition) - Softcover

Hauge, Olav H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1556592884 ISBN 13: 9781556592881

Publisher: Copper Canyon Press, 2008

Synopsis

"...spare, psalmlike poems....Together, the poems in this beautifully translated selection...provide us with the autobiography of a poet who felt most at home during winter, in solitude. Hauge deserves a larger American readership, and this book may summon it." —Publishers Weekly

"(Hauge's) poetry is miniaturist, pictorial, and ruminative; personal in that his experience, cognitive and sensual observations, and intentions are everywhere in it. Yet it isn't at all confessional or self-assertive....He is a man who knows where he is and helps us feel that we can know where we are, too."—Booklist

“If you have a tiny farm, you need to love poetry more than the farm. If you sell apples, you need to love poetry more than the apples.”—Robert Bly, from the introduction

Olav H. Hauge, one of Norway’s most beloved poets, is a major figure of twentieth-century European poetry. This generous bilingual edition—introduced by Robert Bly—includes the best poems from each of Hauge’s seven books, as well as a gathering of his last poems.

Ever sage and plainspoken—and bearing resemblance to Chinese poetry—Hauge’s compact and classically restrained poems are rooted in his training as an orchardist, his deep reading in world literatures, and a lifetime of careful attention to the beauties and rigors of the western fjordland. His spare imagery and unpretentious tone ranges from bleak to unabashedly joyous, an intricate interplay between head and heart and hand.

The rose has been sung about.
I want to sing of the thorns,
and the root—how it grips
the rock hard, hard
as a thin girl’s hand.

During a writing career that spanned nearly fifty years, Olav H. Hauge produced seven books of poetry, numerous translations, and several volumes of correspondence. A largely self-educated man, he earned his living as a farmer, orchardist, and gardener on a small plot in the fjord region of western Norway.

About this title

About the Author

Olav Hauge (1908-1994) is one of the major figures of Norwegian poetry. He lived his entire life on a small farm in the fjordland of western Norway. He was the author of seven books of poetry, numerous translations, and several volumes of correspondence. Robert Bly is one of the most influential poets, translators, and editors of his generation. He is the author of numerous books, including the National Book Award-winning Silence in the Snowy Fields and the iconic (and best-selling) Iron John. Robert Hedin is the author, translator, and editor of twenty volumes of poetry and prose, including The Old Liberators: New and Selected Poems and Translations. He is co-founder and current director of the Anderson Center, an artist retreat in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Reviews

Hauge (1908–1994) worked as a farmer and gardener in the fjord region of his native western Norway—his spare, psalmlike poems seem to be made by someone used to working with his lands, like maker of the houses of branches we built/ when we were children. These are also poems infused with a wry, modernist perspective: Today I saw/ two moons,/ one new/ and one old./ I have a lot of faith in the new moon./ But its probably just the old. Hand in hand with that sensibility comes an allegiance to Japanese haiku—Hauge delivers odes to Basho in addition to Brecht—and readers may be reminded of Kenneth Rexroth. Together, the poems in this beautifully translated selection (the book contains the Norwegian en face) provide us with the autobiography of a poet who felt most at home during winter, in solitude. Hauge deserves a larger American readership, and this book may summon it. (Nov.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: Norwegian
• ISBN 10: 1556592884
• ISBN 13: 9781556592881
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240