New Swedish Books. Spring 2016 1
NEW SWEDISH BOOKS All flesh is hay. And the light
emanating from the sun is also radiation. Death is indeed the undercurrent of Birgitta Lillpers’ new poetry collection, present in the very first lines and in the illness that’s introduced. One presumes it’s cancer. The past and present are interwoven: the rural life of Sweden’s Dalarna region during the hay-making season with scenes from a postindustrial Manchester, a late-night gym and the local council’s facilities during radiotherapy treatment. Impressionistic, poetical notes are crossed with fragments of prose and dialogue, advertising slogans, ekphrasis and excerpts from old annals. Here a human being encounters the sun, the wind, the plants, and the arts. Here the human being is included. Birgitta Lillpers writes, “What death is up to no one can know”. She then quietly stays put, processing this thought, this event, through her poetry. Notes on Hay BIRGITTA LILLPERS NOTES ON HAY WAHLSTRÖM & WIDSTRAND RIGHTS: WAHLSTRÖM & WIDSTRAND 10 Photo: Gunnel Johansson