Edith Södergran: Modernist Poet

“I don't create poetry, I create myself, for me my poems are a way to me.” ~Edith Södergran Introductory Note from Complete Poems

'That my writing is poetry no one can deny, that it is verse I will not insist. I have attempted to bring certain refractory poems under one rhythm and have thereby discovered that I possess the power of the word and the image only under conditions of complete freedom, i.e. at the expense of the rhythm. My poems are to be taken as careless pencil sketches. As regards the content, I let my instinct build up what my intellect sees in expectation. My self-confidence depends on the fact that I have discovered my dimensions. It does not become me to make myself less than I am." Vierge Moderne I am no woman. I am neuter. I am child, a page and bold resolve, I am a laughing stripe of scarlet sun... I am a net for all greedy fish, I am a skoal to the glory of all women, I am a step towards hazard and ruin, I am a leap into freedom and self... I am the whisper of blood in the ear of the man, I am the soul's ague, the longing and refusal of the flesh, I am an entrance sign to new paradises. I am a flame, searching and brazen, I am water, deep but daring up to the knee, I am fire and water in free and loyal union... Complete Poems Edith Södergran translated by David McDuff Bloodaxe Books, Newcastle upon Tyne @1987, 2nd edition 1992 ISBN: 0 906427 38 X

Södergran (1892-1923) was a Finnish poet who wrote in Swedish. See this for more detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_S%C3%B6dergran

Finnish Writers

The First Lady of Finland, Jenni Haukio hosted a writers' luncheon in Minneapolis on September 22, 2017 at the Hilton Hotel during the Finnfest 2017.  Her most recent book, Sinä Kuulet Sen Soiton. (You Hear That Music) is published by Savukeidas Kustannus.

Here is an excerpt from her book in Finnish:

Laakakatajat, haahkat, tyrnit, 

rahkasammalta kasvavat kalliot
vanhan meren loppumaton kohina

Vain tämä silmiini kivettyvä maisema
jää jälkeeni maailmalle,

veteen heitetyn kiven synnyttämä aaltoilu,
kaarenkestoinen onni, täydellinen...

In conversation, we explored the question of how all of our writing might relate to Finnish identity. It is an interesting question, and the answers were diverse. They are elusive. In the culture, people might say Finnish-ness includes independence and determination, a quietness or reserve, a connection to nature and landscape, and also inexpressible longing.

In the photo from left to right: Suzanne Matson, Diane Jarvi, Liisa Virtamo, Jenni Haukio, Ann Tuomi, Beth Virtanen, Christina Maki and Donna Salli in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


Elbows of reeds, hawks, gulls,

the moss-faces of rocks
in the endless noise of the old sea

Only in this eyed landscape
I'm behind the world,

a ripple caused by a stone thrown far into the water,
a concentric orbit of luck, widening

(Translated by Sheila Packa)

KAXE Radio: On the Beat

Thanks to Steve Downing, I'm On the Beat @ KAXE Radio in Grand Rapids, MN.  Here's a poem from Night Train Red Dust.   "Old Music"

http://kaxe.org/Audiobox/Beat/KAXE_Beat_2014_12_11_SPacka_OldMusic.mp3

Finnish Women Poets

Because my grandparents immigrated from Finland, and the language of Finnish was lost in me, I often wondered about the poets and writers of that country.  Thinking perhaps that their work was also part of my literary heritage, I searched for their work and found that yes, there was a common root.  This essay traces the history of Edith Irene Södergran, Kirsti Simonsuuri, and Marja-Liisa Vartio.