New Swedish Books, spring 2017 1
New Swedish Books 26 Marie Lundquist (b. 1950) Th
e Poem Is a Thought That Travels Through the Heart and Explodes It Publisher Albert Bonniers förlag info@abforlag.bonnier.se www.albertbonniersforlag.se Rights Albert Bonniers förlag helena.ljungstrom@albertbonniers.se Selected Works Drömmen om verkligheten – fotografiska reflektioner (Journal 2007) Essays De dödas bok (Albert Bonniers förlag 2008) Poems Så länge jag kan minnas har jag varit ensam (Albert Bonniers förlag 2013) Novel Literary Prizes (selection) Karin Boyes litterära pris 1999 Gerhard Bonniers lyrikpris 2000 De Nios lyrikpris 2008 Stipendium ur Lena Vendelfelts minnesfond 2013 Aspenströmpriset 2015 The Poem Is a Thought That Travels Through the Heart and Explodes It Marie Lundquist’s book is genre-busting – poetics, prose poetry, aphorisms, short texts – each of which contain expansive worlds. During her time as a poet and translator, she has really come to know The Poem, both as a literary form, and in a figurative sense. In her book, it is a demon, a secretive and multifarious, artful creature, one that is devoted and loving and at the same time dangerous and unpredictable, an archetypal human creation and one which lives its own life. The book is surprising, humorous and deeply serious. It carries with it and tells of an experience that is life-long and universal – one that affects both writer and reader, as it is concerned with creativity and dedication, with being someone in very close connection with The Poem itself.