Tsunami from Solaris: Essays on Poetry

by Aase Berg, Johannes Göransson (Translation), Joyelle McSweeney (Translation)

Literary Nonfiction. Essays. Edited and translated by Joyelle McSweeney and Johannes G�ransson. For over a decade, Aase Berg's poetry has permeated audiences from China to Romania to the US with its mix of linguistic permutations, feminist re-embodiments, and sci-fi atmospherics. Originally published in venues from daily newspapers to literary journals, the essays and columns collected here provide a characteristically refreshing set of coordinates, establishing the surreal, grotesque, and offbeat as unexpected arsenals for aesthetic and political insurgency.

Genres: Poetry, Essays

32 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2019

About the author

Poet, fiction writer, critic, translator, and one of the founding members of the Stockholm Surrealist Group.

Reviews

[Matt T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had been trying to get into Aase Berg's poetry for a while after having run into extremely positive endorsements from the poet SJ Fowler, and the poet-translators, Johannes Göransson and Joyelle McSweeney, but somehow never quite connected with the odd fragments found online. This short collection rectifies that. The essays serve as a perfect introduction to her work, functioning as a kind of unassuming on-the-hoof 'ars poetica', which at times remind me of the penetrating intensity of Rimbaud's letters to Paul Demeny, or, better, Sean Bonney's letters against the firmament. Somehow Berg avoids the eschewed romantic cliche of agonised poet and revolts against the humdrum 'epiphany at the bottom' formula poem, while being both down to earth and unquestionably romantic.

[Ryan Bollenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and encouraging collection of essays on poetry and aesthetics. My favorite essay was "A Cistern of Sorrow," which offers an interesting look at the experience of pregnancy, but all the the essays have something to offer. As a former writing teacher, I wish alternative poetics like this were more prominent in American classrooms. Even side by side, I think it'd be an enlightening look at the scope of possibilities/range of poetics.

[Hsu Jui-Ting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible insight into a form of poetry as wound wreaking and wound supplicant; where the grief of a carved word is integral not into just how the poem heals but also how the poem heals irregularly. Slight concerns on the organization of this pamphlet (should it be as such?) might dampen the rating some, but the overwhelming power of a majority of these essays merits high recommendation.

[Cody Stetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated these essays, and think especially Berg's work speaking toward critics is immensely valuable.

"Communication in poetry is about the path through one's own impossibility."

"To be a critic is or at least should be a self-revealing ability,"

[Bonisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorites:

Joy Packs and Paradise Morons
Language and Madness
Landscaping

Will need to read again, some parts are on the edge of my grasping

[Fany Macáková · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so sorry but I could not understand a thing. Never got the point, confused and forgotten. No hard feelings, just cant work with this in any way, shape or form

[mallory payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

unique perspectives on literary criticism and poetry as a form. title essay was definitely the stand out of the collection and i enjoyed the essays on reality and unreality and fantasy the best.