Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Den halvferdige himmelen


DEN HALVFERDIGE HIMMELEN

Oppgittheten avbryter sitt løp.
Angsten avbryter sitt løp.
Gribben avbryter sin flukt.

Det ivrige lyset veller fram,
selv spøkelsene tar seg en slurk.

Og maleriene våre kommer for en dag,
våre istidsatelierers røde dyr.

Allting begynner å se seg om.
Vi går i solen i hundrevis.

Hvert menneske en halvåpen dør
som leder til et rom for alle.
Den uendelige marken under oss.

Vannet lyser mellom trærne.

Innsjøen er et vindu mot jorden.


T. Tranströmer

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Örnklippan

Örnklippan

Bakom terrariets glas
reptilerna
underligt orörliga.

En kvinna hänger tvätt
i tystnaden.
Döden är vindstilla.

I markens djup
glider min själ
tyst som en komet.

Tomas Tranströmer



Tuesday, June 07, 2005

For reading: Norwegian authors


The exams are over!

And now what?

There is always loads that I would like to do, read and accomplish while I am tied to the university. As the exams draw to an end and I find myself wonderfully freed from duties and deadlines, all the time on my hands seems to drown me - at least for a few days. I just don't know what to do with the blank days presented to me. But that usually doesn't last very long. Some days of the week I work in a large book store, check out its website: http://www.norli.no
To be surrounded by books gives a good feeling. Books can be better friends than many people.

I would like to recommend some Norwegian authors that probably aren't too famous in the rest of the world:

  • A real writer, a truth-seeking novelist with a poet's pen is Knut Hamsun.
    Many of his books are translated to English, German and other languages. He even received the Nobel Prize of literature in 1920. The books Pan, Mysterier (Mysteries) and Markens grøde (Growth of the Soil) are amongst his very best. In addition to the clear, lyric language these books also express some sort of national "ground tone" - a sort of Norwegian voice, sea-blue and tree-green.
  • Olav H. Hauge is a poet from Hardanger, the green garden of the west of Norway, dramatically situated between high mountains and narrow fjords. Most of his life he worked as a gardener, but at heart he truly was a poet. His often short, simple poems stretch out in your mind as they unfold. As simple as they may seem, there is depth and width beyond all oceans. In addition to this simpleness, he has an extensive knowledge of the world's literature, of Chinese poets and other authors. All of this shines through his poems. Visit www.norli.no or www.amazon.com to check out English and Norwegian books by this author.
  • Henrik Ibsen is of course not to be forgotten. This playwrite is famous throughout most of the world - at least by people who take an interest to the scene. One of my favourites amongst his plays is Peer Gynt. Ibsen himself called this piece a "dramatic poem" and left it for the next centuries' public to discuss what this really means. Although Peer Gynt mostly is presented as a play on a stage of some kind, this piece is just as good recited, listened to or silently read by yourself. In this dramatic poem (it's all on rhyme!) Ibsen has captured some of the Norwegian people's soul, for good and for worse. The drama of the landscape is reflected in the minds and deeds of the characters, mostly so in Peer himself. He is a dreamer, a boaster and a storyteller, but soft-hearted and kind as well. His wild tales and infortunate actions lead him into some real trouble. At one point he has to flee into the mountains, and there he meets the Mountain King - a troll of some kind. Peer has to flee from this one too, as he has dishonoured the Mountain King's daughter and the way they live. From now on, Peer Gynt faces a wild trip around the world (or so it seems). This story is exciting, poetic, musical, mysterious, wondrous and sometimes breathtaking. It would absolutely be better to read this play in Norwegian, but as not many people speak Ibsen's own language, it is good to know that Peer Gynt has been translated into many, many languages. Go to the library and see if it exists in your language!
  • A Swedish poet worth reading and rereading is Tomas Tranströmer. He is still alive and productive. Through him we meet blue and brown simplicity, the lucid joy of ordinary life. And the mysterious darkness we all carry in us. Somewhere in his poems you are bound to meet yourself.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Det er merkelig hvordan noe trigger en til å skrive. Det er merkelig hvordan stemmen forandrer seg når man skriver et annet språk. Å skrive på engelsk fører til et mer distansert forhold mellom meg og det skrevne og jeg innbiller meg at en engelskspråklig vil se dette like lett som jeg kjenner det.

Du trenger ikke gå så langt for å finne det rette, du trenger ikke søke land og strand verden rundt for å finne ut av mysteriet. Det eneste du trenger gjøre er å gå inn i deg selv. Der finner du utspringet til alt liv. Der finner du din ro, din rot, din trygghet og kilden til alt det du trodde du trengte å finne ut av på nytt. Har du kilden, trenger du ikke være redd for å gå tom.


Verden og meg

Jeg visste ikke når det skulle skje, men jeg håpet at det ville skje snart. Alt for lenge har jeg flakket omkring uten noe stødig holdepunkt ute i verden. I meg selv har jeg et sentrum så godt og sterkt som noens, men det er ikke alltid like fornøyelig å forholde seg til utenverdenen. Nå har jeg en ro og en stødig fremdrift. Jeg tør lene meg mot verden. Jeg vet at den vil ta meg i mot.

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Essence, i guess

I believe one of the greatest challenges in life to be not running away. To not run away from unpleasantness, to stand up and stare life in the face when it comes to get you. Nothing should be more natural than this. But how many live by their ideals? There are times when you scratch the uneven surface of something essential, of something that is pure essence. This something you have to realise is a part of yourself, and that you yourself are a seed that can grow through asphalt, air and sky. That a part of the divine lives in you. Sometimes I can feel the soil in me, bits of earth and grass and leaves that bear witness of our very natural background, but sometimes I feel more like a machine or a hard metal something in a large mechanical device, like it's just a coincidence that we bear a resemblance to chimps and other large monkeys.

Almost just as hard as this is to head straight to the core of things. To be able to see through things rather than look at them, and then again to master the skill of dissecting the matter with language of some kind - words, music, colour etc. How many are able to look at a flower, let alone a tree or the idea "society", and then produce some drops of essence while explaining it? If anyone has the insight, can he then express it so that anyone understands what he has seen?Just look at this effort of describing the problem of describing things, it doesn't make matters very clear, does it? I'm trying to describe an abstract idea (which, by the way, is itself the definition of abstract), and find it difficult to succeed. I think it is important to make an effort. It is important to practice your humanity. It can be hard work, but all the more satisfying.

Good poets tend to point directly at the core of simple or difficult matters. That is one of the reasons why I like to read.


Vind fyker gjennom steinen
Insektet summer bladets fall
Fremdeles blinker fyret

Vinterklokken tikker i feil retning
Jeg har sendt fire båter til dadlene i Egypt
Min smerte er røkelse

Gresset hersker over mitt velkjente mørke
Døden retter tomheten opp med graner

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Valgfrihet er valgtvang

Valgfrihet vil også si valgtvang. Vi tvinges til å foreta valg hele tiden, fordi vi tilbys så mange veier og valg til enhver tid. Vi er ikke langt fra scenene i "Minority Report" hvor Tom Cruise-karakteren går fram gjennom en skog av opp-poppende reklamer direkte henvendt til ham. Et slikt mylder av opplysninger vil nødvendigvis også gjenspeile seg på innsiden av folks hoder, den oppbrutte, oppjagede stilen setter sine metalltenner i svampaktig hjernefiber og etterlater seg dype spor. Overfør alt det du ser til hvordan tankene dine beveger seg på, alle trafikkmaskiner med over- og undergående biltrafikk med evig strømmende kjøretøy, alle menneskene som haster mot ett eller annet av større og mindre betydning, alle tog og tunnelbaner som kjører inn og ut av fjell, opp og ned åssider, alle flyene som suser i kryss og tråkler co2-mønstre over himmelen, og all larmen som stiger fra bevegelsene, fra mennesker og biler og fly og gravearbeider, når er det egentlig stille? Dette selvsagt med utgangspunkt i øyet som ser byen, men er det ikke i byen de fleste mennesker bor? Øyets kraft kan ikke undervurderes. Det visuelle senter opptar en stor plass i hjernen vår. For mange, underskrivende inkludert, spiller det visuelle direkte inn på hvordan de tenker, på tankenes baner.

Flere muligheter innebærer flere valg. Dette burde igjen føre til mer ettertanke, til loddende virksomhet, men DET viser seg ikke å stemme. Ikke for den store hopen, og jeg vet at dette er en generalisering, men det er ganske så opplagt at de aller fleste er mer opptatt å gjøre og ta del i mye enn å virkelig tenke på de valgene de gjør. Det finnes lettvintløsninger for alt, og det er fristende å velge dem. Vi tror gjerne vi sparer tid, men det vi taper er kan hende kvalitet?

Ett ubestridelig gode med alle disse mulighetene er nettopp det, at de fleste har en mulighet til å leve akkurat slik de ønsker. Men det er jo dette med at medaljen har to sider. Hvis man kan se begge sidene på en gang, og være bevisst hva man putter i seg (i form av inntrykk såvel som mat), har det aldri vært en bedre tid enn nå. At det kreves mer av oss enn tidligere er i grunnen bare bra. Det gjelder å skjerpe tanken og det vi sier, hva vi velger å utsette oss for bør gjennomgå en kritisk utsilingsprosess. Vi skal ikke gidde å tenke over alt som kommer rekende vår vei. Skap deg de muligheter du ønsker deg!

Det er så mye som er mulig, mer enn noen gang.


Thekla

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Cocoa

I believe the cocoa bean to be vastly underestimated as a source of joy, happiness and everything positive in general. Is there a hole in your existence? Fill it with cocoa! Is there a hole in your stomach? Fill it with cocoa! Is there a whole in your wall, your ceiling or your love life? Stuff some cocoa in there!

Aaahh..

My sugar trip just ended.

Why is happiness such a short business.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

TIP OF THE DAY

OK, forgot the Tip of the Day:

Drink loads of green tea, it really cleanses what's cleansable!


French grammar

I am making my very first appearance as a blogger today, I believe this will be a most painful affair if it turns out there is nothing to write, nothing in my life worth blogging out (hardly believable... ;o).

Presently I am occupied by a French task at the University of Oslo, making out all there is to know about the passive in French, or le passif en français. I would rather have a long walk in the forest surrounding the city, but sense has caught up with me and my duties must be done.

Gee, this is too boring to continue. Will write some other time.