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There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die
While Tove Ditlevsen is now famous around the world as an extraordinary prose writer, in Denmark she has also long been celebrated as a poet. She published her first collection in her early twenties, and continued writing and publishing poetry until the end of her life. This new selection offers English readers a chance to explore her brilliant, surprising verse across nearly four decades of writing.
In this playful, mournful, witty collection, little girls stand tip-toe inside adult bodies, achievements in literature and lethargy are unflinchingly listed, and lovers come and go like the seasons. Gorgeously translated by Jennifer Russell and Sophia Hersi Smith, with an afterword by Olga Ravn, There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die cements Ditlevsen as one of the twentieth century's most creative writers.
In this playful, mournful, witty collection, little girls stand tip-toe inside adult bodies, achievements in literature and lethargy are unflinchingly listed, and lovers come and go like the seasons. Gorgeously translated by Jennifer Russell and Sophia Hersi Smith, with an afterword by Olga Ravn, There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die cements Ditlevsen as one of the twentieth century's most creative writers.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 14, 2017
3829 people want to read
About the author
Tove Ditlevsen
116 books1,088 followersTove Ditlevsen var en dansk forfatter, som hentede inspiration i sit eget liv som kvinde. I sin digtning og som yndet brevkasseredaktør i Familie Journalen udfoldede hun en dyb psykologisk indsigt i moderne kvinders splittede liv. Hendes evne til at udtrykke sammensatte følelser i et enkelt og smukt sprog fik betydning for flere generationer af læsere.
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January 10, 2026real ass title
January 6, 2025
Originally written between 1939-1973 and translated from Danish, this collection of poems by famed author Tove Ditlevsen reminds me that though times and places may change, so much of what we feel and love stays the same. These poems could have been written last year and I would have believed it. Ditlevsen taps into the hopefulness of youth, the anguish of growing old(er), and the ruins of love in a way that hit close to home more than once.
I imagine translating poetry to be a challenging task (how to keep the meaning while not losing the style?), and so I commend the translators for doing an amazing job here. I felt so much of what Ditlevsen tried to convey.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I imagine translating poetry to be a challenging task (how to keep the meaning while not losing the style?), and so I commend the translators for doing an amazing job here. I felt so much of what Ditlevsen tried to convey.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
August 12, 2025
Sealey Challenge 2025: 8/31
I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection. While I was already aware of Tove Ditlevsen’s critical acclaim, I had primarily thought of her as an author rather than a poet. This collection, however, proved just how multifaceted and talented she truly was.
Spanning the entirety of her career, the collection is thoughtfully arranged, allowing readers to trace the evolution of her voice and style over time. Even her earliest poems are striking in their emotional depth and clarity. Ditlevsen explores themes such as complex family relationships, motherhood, love, divorce, and the many forms of survival inherent to womanhood. Her reflections feel both personal and universal, often achingly honest yet never self-indulgent.
What especially impressed me was her ability to balance the deeply melancholic aspects of her work with moments of dry, wry humor that landed perfectly. It gave the collection a layered tone that felt deeply human.
Reading this has not only given me a newfound appreciation for Ditlevsen as a poet, but also made me eager to explore more of her work. I now feel as though I’ve righted a personal literary oversight, and I’m all the better for it!
I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection. While I was already aware of Tove Ditlevsen’s critical acclaim, I had primarily thought of her as an author rather than a poet. This collection, however, proved just how multifaceted and talented she truly was.
Spanning the entirety of her career, the collection is thoughtfully arranged, allowing readers to trace the evolution of her voice and style over time. Even her earliest poems are striking in their emotional depth and clarity. Ditlevsen explores themes such as complex family relationships, motherhood, love, divorce, and the many forms of survival inherent to womanhood. Her reflections feel both personal and universal, often achingly honest yet never self-indulgent.
What especially impressed me was her ability to balance the deeply melancholic aspects of her work with moments of dry, wry humor that landed perfectly. It gave the collection a layered tone that felt deeply human.
Reading this has not only given me a newfound appreciation for Ditlevsen as a poet, but also made me eager to explore more of her work. I now feel as though I’ve righted a personal literary oversight, and I’m all the better for it!
June 7, 2020
Jeg er så glad for, at Tove Ditlevsen har fået en renæssance. Ellers havde jeg højst sandsynligt aldrig fået læst hendes digte og opdaget, hvor smukt og sørgmodigt og humoristisk og hårdslående hun skriver på én og samme tid.
November 17, 2025
i am both surprised and not by how greatly i have enjoyed this collection! Ditlevsen seems to have been an adult who clearly remembered what being a child felt like. her poetry is touching, heartbreaking, and very, very special.
January 17, 2018
For mig kunne (og kan) Tove noget særligt, fordi hun ikke var bange for at tage afsæt i det banale, det kedelige, som andre lyrikere måske følte sig for fine til, og hun gør det i et sprog, som selv arbejderen eller sågar pigen i 6. klasse kan forstå. I forlængelse heraf skriver Olga Ravn i efterordet at:
“Det er disse digte, der skrives frem i en form, der ikke søger det originale udtryk, som ikke vil make it new. Hvad vil de så? De vil reaktualisere det af traditionen bortkastede, de poetiske brokker på møddingen. Hvorfor vil de det? Fordi det at bruge et ikketidssvarende sprog både er en arbejderdigters fuck you til de fine høj-modernister og samtidig er en måde at genoplive det bortkastede sprog.”
Og udvalget af digte understreger netop, at Tove Ditlevsen ikke blot forstod at skrive sig ud af lyriktraditioner rent stil- og sprogmæssigt, men også på det indholdsmæssige plan, hvor hun giver plads til at dyrke melankolien* og det uskønne i at købe en liter mælk eller få et forkølelsessår*. Hun nægtede at indtage rollen som den tilfredse husmor, som gik op i madlavning, blomsteropsatser og forældremøder*, og det kommer til udtryk i hendes digte til stor glæde for alle andre, som ikke kan genkende sig selv i den typisk tilgængelige kvinderolle.
Læs mere her: https://bookmeupscotty.blogspot.dk/20...
“Det er disse digte, der skrives frem i en form, der ikke søger det originale udtryk, som ikke vil make it new. Hvad vil de så? De vil reaktualisere det af traditionen bortkastede, de poetiske brokker på møddingen. Hvorfor vil de det? Fordi det at bruge et ikketidssvarende sprog både er en arbejderdigters fuck you til de fine høj-modernister og samtidig er en måde at genoplive det bortkastede sprog.”
Og udvalget af digte understreger netop, at Tove Ditlevsen ikke blot forstod at skrive sig ud af lyriktraditioner rent stil- og sprogmæssigt, men også på det indholdsmæssige plan, hvor hun giver plads til at dyrke melankolien* og det uskønne i at købe en liter mælk eller få et forkølelsessår*. Hun nægtede at indtage rollen som den tilfredse husmor, som gik op i madlavning, blomsteropsatser og forældremøder*, og det kommer til udtryk i hendes digte til stor glæde for alle andre, som ikke kan genkende sig selv i den typisk tilgængelige kvinderolle.
Læs mere her: https://bookmeupscotty.blogspot.dk/20...
March 6, 2025
I want to die in ashen moonlight
awhirl with a thousand snowflakes,
they will flutter through my hands and hair
and wrap me in an icy shroud.
A huge credit to translator to keep the essence and style of Tove Ditlevsen, ensuring the spirit of the poem isn't lost in the process. A lovely collection about growing up and still being in touch with girlhood and the dreams that spun from that time. As the poet grows older and the poems morph from girlish anxiety to existential dread, the underlying emotion that makes up the poet clings to nostalgia of the past. From first love, to anguish to heartache to yearning and resulting in scorn - as it is so in many relationships, her poems explores these ideas as experiences and ties to her existence as woman in a patriarchal society.
One of the criticisms on Tove's poetry was that it was restrictive in its old-fashioned rhyming scheme when postmodernism and free verses were all in vogue. Its the 50s when poetry dramatically changed, tonally and structurally, Tove continued with the style she had pursued all her life and continued to reaffirm the same battles that were waged on women for decades if not centuries, while her contemporaries were challenging poetic forms and reading experience. Yet the poems she pens are raw and directly speaks to the readers in a grounded honesty.
A great collection that grow over pages, as Tove Ditlevsen evolves from a girl to a woman.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
July 16, 2025
A couple of years ago, I read and loved Tove Ditlevsen autobiographical
Copenhagen Trilogy
, so when I was offered an advance copy of this collected volume of selected poetry, translated into English for the first time, I jumped at the opportunity. Even if I hadn't been familiar with Ditlevsen's name, the singularly evocative title would've been enough to catch my eye!
As someone who is trilingual, translation fascinates me, particularly in the case of poetry—how do you stay true to the meaning while maintaining the original rhythm and style, not to mention a rhyme? It's a real art, a balancing act on a razor's edge, but since I don't speak Danish to compare, it's impossible to say how well the translators lived up to this challenging task; I can only attest that having read Ditlevsen's (translated) autobiographies, the voice in these selected poems rang true to me.
Written throughout her entire adult life, dated from 1939 to 1973, each of these poems is disarmingly confessional, and a large part of them still resonated with my own modern female experience: The hopefulness of childhood, anguish of lost youth, agonies of growing old(er), devastation of ruined love, a rather conflicted, negative view of motherhood, dark humour, and a certain fascination with death. I believe that a familiarity with Ditlevsen's biography adds important context to these bleak, intense, nihilist poems, and the introduction does a fairly good job at giving an overview of her tumultuous life, explaining the pervasive sense of dissatisfaction and oppressive sadness that blankets the collection.
I recommend this to anyone interested in mid-century poetry by a woman from a working-class background, stifled by the confinements of her gender, and would suggest reading each dated section in tandem with Ditlevsen's autiobiographies to get the full impact of her words.
—————
Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As someone who is trilingual, translation fascinates me, particularly in the case of poetry—how do you stay true to the meaning while maintaining the original rhythm and style, not to mention a rhyme? It's a real art, a balancing act on a razor's edge, but since I don't speak Danish to compare, it's impossible to say how well the translators lived up to this challenging task; I can only attest that having read Ditlevsen's (translated) autobiographies, the voice in these selected poems rang true to me.
Written throughout her entire adult life, dated from 1939 to 1973, each of these poems is disarmingly confessional, and a large part of them still resonated with my own modern female experience: The hopefulness of childhood, anguish of lost youth, agonies of growing old(er), devastation of ruined love, a rather conflicted, negative view of motherhood, dark humour, and a certain fascination with death. I believe that a familiarity with Ditlevsen's biography adds important context to these bleak, intense, nihilist poems, and the introduction does a fairly good job at giving an overview of her tumultuous life, explaining the pervasive sense of dissatisfaction and oppressive sadness that blankets the collection.
I recommend this to anyone interested in mid-century poetry by a woman from a working-class background, stifled by the confinements of her gender, and would suggest reading each dated section in tandem with Ditlevsen's autiobiographies to get the full impact of her words.
—————
Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 2, 2025
really enjoyed the simplicity of these poems, very interior and addressing ditlevsen’s childhood self, tumultuous relationships, and her own children. i liked seeing how her writing style evolved throughout the years. a woman’s mind, the secret window, and the adults were my favorite sections. also loved olga ravn’s foreword and the translators’ note. made me want to reread the copenhagen trilogy!
thank you to fsg and netgalley for the e-arc - publishes march 11th!
thank you to fsg and netgalley for the e-arc - publishes march 11th!
April 1, 2021
Det er svært at rate digte. Jo flere jeg læste, jo mere følte jeg, at jeg forstod Tove Ditlevsen, hvilket jeg aldrig har prøvet før. Der er boget sårbart og åbent i dem, der imponerede mig
May 5, 2025
excited to get more into her works :))) i love how she wrote about girlhood and anxiety particularly.
March 12, 2018
Normalt er jeg ikke den store digtlæser, men denne fine indbundne blå udgave af Tove Ditlevsens digte fangede mine øjne og derfor måtte jeg eje den. Jeg nød egentlig at læse digtene, fordi Ditlevsen skriver i et sprog der er til at forstå, modsat mange andre digtere i den danske litteraturhistorie. Mange fine digte om livets små og store spørgsmål, samt hvem vi som menneske er.
October 10, 2025
Ik snap nu waarom - als we de Kopenhagen-trilogie mogen geloven - iedereen die Tove kende en haar poëzie las volledig in vervoering van haar raakte.
Vooral ‘The Schoolchildren’ vond ik erg lief; hier een stukje daaruit:
They stumble along like scattered troops
every morning, come rain or shine,
milk-moustached and shaking off sleep,
perpetually small and never on time.
En ‘Self Portrait 1’:
I cannot:
cook
pull of a hat
entertain company
wear jewellery
arrange flowers
remember appointments
send thank-you cards
leave the right tip
hold onto a man
feign interest
at parent-teacher meetings
(…)
I can:
be alone
do the dishes
read books
make sentences
listen
and be happy
without feeling guilty.
Tot slot, passend genoeg, ‘Afterthought’:
When a woman writes
little devils swarm
her most productive years
as well as men whom she only manages
to love badly and from a distance
Vooral ‘The Schoolchildren’ vond ik erg lief; hier een stukje daaruit:
They stumble along like scattered troops
every morning, come rain or shine,
milk-moustached and shaking off sleep,
perpetually small and never on time.
En ‘Self Portrait 1’:
I cannot:
cook
pull of a hat
entertain company
wear jewellery
arrange flowers
remember appointments
send thank-you cards
leave the right tip
hold onto a man
feign interest
at parent-teacher meetings
(…)
I can:
be alone
do the dishes
read books
make sentences
listen
and be happy
without feeling guilty.
Tot slot, passend genoeg, ‘Afterthought’:
When a woman writes
little devils swarm
her most productive years
as well as men whom she only manages
to love badly and from a distance
July 15, 2025
baby's first poetry collection! interesting insight into Ditlevsen's thoughts/ feelings/ worries through different life stages. I also find myself worrying about some of the same things (every second page is dog-eared). There might be emotionally "heavy" topics throughout, but definitely worth the read!
Read
March 9, 2025The levels of yearning and disenchantment are off the charts. The name sake poem rocked me emotionally, in a way that’s more than I could’ve asked for. I need to read more Tove Ditlevsen.
June 20, 2023
Er jeg blevet forelsket i lyrik, eller Ditlevsen?
January 28, 2025
This poetry collection is the second I’ve read this year after Louise Glück’s Ararat, and these two have been some great hits from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
This collection is quintessentially Tove. I read The Copenhagen Trilogy about a year ago and, since then, have been invested in getting my hands on more of her work. I was delighted to see and receive an ARC of this volume. The poems are simple but range over deeply touching matters, with Ditlevsen’s classic confessional style.
If one hasn’t read Ditlevsen’s other work, Olga Ravn’s new introduction acquaints them, not only with Ditlevsen’s life but also her style. I thoroughly enjoyed this selection and will be finding a physical copy upon publication!
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC.
This collection is quintessentially Tove. I read The Copenhagen Trilogy about a year ago and, since then, have been invested in getting my hands on more of her work. I was delighted to see and receive an ARC of this volume. The poems are simple but range over deeply touching matters, with Ditlevsen’s classic confessional style.
If one hasn’t read Ditlevsen’s other work, Olga Ravn’s new introduction acquaints them, not only with Ditlevsen’s life but also her style. I thoroughly enjoyed this selection and will be finding a physical copy upon publication!
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the ARC.
March 12, 2019
Mit første møde med Tove Ditlevsen og er ret tilfreds. Som lydbog går digterne ved siden af Leonora Christina Skovs og Jane Aamunds værker, som perfekte til længere gåture og de øjeblikke hvor man har brug for at koble fra og hvile lidt.
February 9, 2025
There is no doubt about it, Tove Ditlevsen has a remarkable voice and there are some extremely tender moments to note in this collection, but I just didn’t connect with this in the way that I’d hoped. I intend to revisit this at a later date…
Thank you Penguin for the advance copy!
Thank you Penguin for the advance copy!
June 4, 2025
I think I will read this book over and over and over and over and over and over
August 8, 2025
So simple, so impactful. A hymn for all the unconventional girls. Always dark with a sharp irony, torn apart by what life should be like and what the heart calls for.
March 14, 2025
I first discovered this poetry collection on Goodreads, and the title instantly drew me in. Just from that title, I thought that there may be something within these pages that I could recognise in myself. Having dipped into this collection for a few weeks now, I can definitely say that my inkling was correct.
This collection covers many themes. There is love; death; loneliness; marriage and divorce; motherhood; and a sense of looking back over a life, examining and evaluating different stops along the way:
"There lives a young girl in me who will not die,
she is no longer me, and I no longer her,
but she stares back when I look in the mirror,
searching for something she hopes to recover.
There is no one else in the world she can ask:
Where are the earnest smiles, the carefree dances?
Where are my dreams and the joy of twenty?
Tell me, have you made the most of my chances?" (p.44)
I haven't bought a poetry collection for a while now, but this is definitely going to be one which I continue to come back to, dipping into every now and then. This is a collection which shows that Ditlevsen laid herself bare within these words. The insecurities, hopes and musings are just as relevant today. As a woman who has never been married, but is currently in a long-term relationship, one of the poems from towards the end of the collection sums up my feelings quite well:
"Well-versed in yearning
and practised at losing
I am less skilled at simply
holding on to a person
who takes up all the space
staggers around the house
with a head body and arms
and an inscrutable urge to
stay or leave.
A person is too much
I cannot cope with
what's behind his brow
that is only sometimes smooth
what unexpected memories
are in his eyes
what smiles yet unborn
are behind his teeth.
Who would dare to fall asleep
with such a stranger in the house?
I have eliminated sleep and speech
and a readable expression
well-versed in yearning
and practised at losing
I often wish he would leave
and so become
distinctly near." (pp. 151-152)
This collection describes so well what it is to be human. Our fears, our emotions, how we try to develop and maintain connections with those around us. I would highly recommend it.
This collection covers many themes. There is love; death; loneliness; marriage and divorce; motherhood; and a sense of looking back over a life, examining and evaluating different stops along the way:
"There lives a young girl in me who will not die,
she is no longer me, and I no longer her,
but she stares back when I look in the mirror,
searching for something she hopes to recover.
There is no one else in the world she can ask:
Where are the earnest smiles, the carefree dances?
Where are my dreams and the joy of twenty?
Tell me, have you made the most of my chances?" (p.44)
I haven't bought a poetry collection for a while now, but this is definitely going to be one which I continue to come back to, dipping into every now and then. This is a collection which shows that Ditlevsen laid herself bare within these words. The insecurities, hopes and musings are just as relevant today. As a woman who has never been married, but is currently in a long-term relationship, one of the poems from towards the end of the collection sums up my feelings quite well:
"Well-versed in yearning
and practised at losing
I am less skilled at simply
holding on to a person
who takes up all the space
staggers around the house
with a head body and arms
and an inscrutable urge to
stay or leave.
A person is too much
I cannot cope with
what's behind his brow
that is only sometimes smooth
what unexpected memories
are in his eyes
what smiles yet unborn
are behind his teeth.
Who would dare to fall asleep
with such a stranger in the house?
I have eliminated sleep and speech
and a readable expression
well-versed in yearning
and practised at losing
I often wish he would leave
and so become
distinctly near." (pp. 151-152)
This collection describes so well what it is to be human. Our fears, our emotions, how we try to develop and maintain connections with those around us. I would highly recommend it.
March 3, 2025
Tove Ditlevsens poëzie breekt mijn hart... wow, ze hebben nog zoveel meer kracht dan haar boeken! Ik ben sterk onder de indruk!
December 31, 2025
A few poems felt like nothing. Most poems were compelling. Some poems deeply touched my soul.
June 19, 2023
Helt okay - kunne bare ikke relatere til den og derfor faldt min interesse hurtigt, så måske den er bedre at læse om nogle år hvor jeg måske bedre kan sætte mig ind i tematikkerne.
April 23, 2025
still not a poetry girl i guess 😓
April 30, 2025
Some of these poems were absolute bangers a few were lost on me… but overall insane love love love
March 20, 2025
3.5⭐️
I didn’t connect with all of the poems, but there were definitely a few that really stuck with me.
I didn’t connect with all of the poems, but there were definitely a few that really stuck with me.
January 12, 2025
3.5/4 ⭐️ I love Tove and her style but her poetry did not strike me as much as her other books, possibly some of it is down to translation? Some of the poems just didn’t quite seem Tove like, but maybe her style in poetry was just a lot different. Some definitely stood out and I loved them a lot. A lot didn’t but as a whole they created one inseparable piece.
May 29, 2021
"Zero fucks given" synes at være Ditlevsens strategi: Intet kan røre mig, hvis jeg selv udstiller alt det grimmeste, mest skamfulde og utiltalende: Pisstinkende hjørner der hores i, luderne på Istedgade, skilsmisser og børn der går for lud og koldt vand.
I betragtning af hvornår digtene er skrevet og udgivet er det stærke sager Ditlevsen lufter for gud og hver mand - i en tid hvor en god kvinde var husmor og moderskikkelse lufter Ditlevsen alle kvindelivets undersider: undertrykkelse, underliv og unddragelse af svangerskaber.
Der er en særlig dobbeltoplevelse i at gå gennem Istedgade på en regnfuld dag og høre hendes digte om den evige regn på Istedgade og luderne oppe i den anden ende ad gaden. Nok er de fleste beverdinger veget for sushi- og vinbarer, men visse ting har ikke ændret sig - og regnen og hendes sær blanding af stolthed og ulykke over ikke at passe ind i forestillingen om den perfekte kvinde er konstant.
I betragtning af hvornår digtene er skrevet og udgivet er det stærke sager Ditlevsen lufter for gud og hver mand - i en tid hvor en god kvinde var husmor og moderskikkelse lufter Ditlevsen alle kvindelivets undersider: undertrykkelse, underliv og unddragelse af svangerskaber.
Der er en særlig dobbeltoplevelse i at gå gennem Istedgade på en regnfuld dag og høre hendes digte om den evige regn på Istedgade og luderne oppe i den anden ende ad gaden. Nok er de fleste beverdinger veget for sushi- og vinbarer, men visse ting har ikke ændret sig - og regnen og hendes sær blanding af stolthed og ulykke over ikke at passe ind i forestillingen om den perfekte kvinde er konstant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews