New Swedish Books, spring 2017 1
New Swedish Books 20 Jonas Modig (b. 1943) Betwee
n Islands in the Long Straits Publisher Norstedts förlag info@norstedts.se www.norstedts.se Rights Norstedts förlag hakan.bravinger@norstedts.se Selected Works Radfall (Norstedts 2009) Poetry Vinter i sommarhuset (Norstedts 2011) Poetry Kaninen rymde (Norstedts 2014) Poetry Literary Prizes De Nios Särskilda pris 2014 Kallebergerstipendiet 2015 Between Islands in the Long Straits Jonas Modig writes beautiful, powerful poetry. He genuinely seems to write from his own experience and existential necessity. This poetry collection, his seventh, focuses on the passage of life and time, the space of memory, the people who pass through our lives and whose lives we pass through. The spaceship Aniara slips by, as does the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, and we see the islands that seem to swim in the waters of summer. Life in Jonas Modig’s poetry collection is a matter of dark visions as well as mildly surreal experiences. The poems are sombrely beautiful, enjoyable, and urgent observations of the transience of all life, and our human responsibility for the world we have under our care. Photo: Göran Segeholm