New Swedish Books, Autumn 2018 1
27 Autumn 2018 A Paradise, Though Withered There
are countless poems about hearts, butterflies, trees and birds. Hence, Hanna Hallgren approaches these symbolically laden images with intertextuality as her instrument. With her use of citation and paraphrase, other poets’ works become fertile soil for new verse to grow. Rose Ausländer, Karin Boye and Mirkka Rekola are just some of the writers whose words are included, yet the voice is unmistakably Hallgren’s own. Lines are varied and repeated to form a singable, sublime and flowing linguistic fabric. A Paradise, Though Withered is about words, humanity and life. It is the third instalment of a poetry collection triptych that Hallgren has been working on since 2012. Hanna Hallgren (b. 1972) A Paradise, Though Withered Publisher Pequod Press www.pequod.se Rights Pequod Anders Bräck anders@pequod.se, info@pequod.se Selected works Burqa, poems, 2003 Jaget är människans mest framträdande sinnessjukdom, poems, 2008 Roslära, poems, 2012 Photo: Jenny Tunedal