Swedish Poetry 1
I saw a tree and the leaden birds of death Werner
Aspenström, from Litania (Litany), 1952. Werner Aspenström (1918-1997) Snölegend (Snow Legend, 1949) Among the poets who are assigned to the category of the 1940s, Werner Aspenström is not as steeped in anguish and anxiety at the spirit of the age. Where the others opted for gravity, he chose lightness. He was also reluctant to accept election to the Swedish Academy. In Snölegend he writes winter poems that make the feelings of poetry readers melt. The view he takes of contemporary life may seem dismissive, but it is never superior or heartless. Obscurity and SWEDISH POETRY clarity are equally important elements in the construction of his poetry. What we learn from his meditations on existence is how to handle uncertainty. The poems evoke and deny resignation in lively sallies against that which limits the freedom of movement of human beings. What we are invited to share when we read him is nothing less than the triumph of optimism. Selected Collections of Poetry: Förberedelse (1943) Snölegend (1949) Litania (1952) Hundarna (1954) Dikter under träden (1956) Om dagen om natten (1961) 66 dikter (1964) Under tiden (1972) Sorl (1983) Israpport (1997) 18