Astrid and Veronika (24 page)

‘There was a sense of urgency to your story. A matter of completing something that began long ago. Healing something that had been hurting for such a long time. So, here it is, your book, Astrid. I have called it
Let me sing you gentle songs.’

The candle spluttered and went out. Initially the room seemed very dark, but as her eyes adjusted, the light from a nearly full moon shone on the snow outside and a frail white light reflected into the room.

It was time to go to bed.

Good night — good sleep I wish for you,
my fellow wanderers.
We stop our song and part our ways — so what
if we never meet again.
I have told you a little and poorly of that
which has burnt in me and so soon will burn out,
but what love that was there, no corruption knows —
good night — good sleep to you.

DAN ANDERSSON, ‘Epilog’ (Epilogue) in
Efterlämnade dikter
(
Posthumous poems
), 1920

Astrid and Veronika
is the tangible result of my acceptance to the inaugural postgraduate course Writing the Novel at the University of Auckland. Without the course, the book would probably never have been contemplated. Without the constructive criticism, constant encouragement and professional advice of my two tutors, Witi Ihimaera and Stephanie Johnson, it most certainly would not have been completed. I am deeply grateful to them both.

I have written in my study, which overlooks the skyline of Auckland city, where the dramatic shifts in light constantly threaten to distract. Yet, the process of writing this book has taken me to the other side of the world; in fact, as far away as it is possible to travel without turning back again. My native country has filled my mind with unprecedented intensity. But this book could not have been written anywhere but here, in New Zealand. The distance was essential.

Many have supported and encouraged my writing: tutors, fellow writers and friends. I thank you all, and especially Linda Grey-Hughes, who set me on track and insisted I could do it. To my editor Rachel Scott — my sincere gratitude. She approached my manuscript with all the best qualities of a good editor: interest, sensitivity, thoroughness, patience, respect — and a good sense of humour. This book belongs to her too. To my friend and fellow writer Lisa M. Skoog de Lamas a special greeting, wishing her a continuous and complete recovery, and a speedy return to writing. I have missed the benefit of her critical eye and total honesty in the process of writing this book.

Finally, my love to my husband Frank, who gave me the space and the time.

 

Linda Olsson
Auckland, September 2005

I am grateful to the following individuals and organisations for the permission to quote from poems and song lyrics. I have been deeply moved by the generosity, trust and kindness extended to me. My special thanks to Mats Boye, whose early unconditional permission to quote extensively from Karin Boye’s poems and to include my own translations set me out with confidence on the pursuit of all the other permissions.

 

Fleur Adcock; Rolf Almer on behalf of the estate of Bo Bergman; Monika Kempe on behalf of the estate of Erik Blomberg; Mats Boye for quotes from Karin Boye’s poems; Brita Edfelt for the verse from the poem ‘Demaskering’ (Unmasking) by Johannes Edfelt; the Administration of Literary Rights in Sweden (ALIS), for the licence to use lines from the poem ‘Grekland’ (Greece) by Gunnar Ekelöf; Professor Erik Allardt for the lines from the poem ‘Ljust i mörkt’ (Lights in darkness) by Ragnar Ekelund; Aina Enckell for the permission to use lines from the poem ‘Bäst bygges’ (Best you build) by Rabbe Enckell; Gösta Friberg; Lars Grundström for the lines from the poem ‘Må–’ (May–) by Helmer Grundström; Susanna Gulin for lines from the poem ‘Skuggan i rummet’ (The shadow in the room) by Åke Gulin; the Hjalmar Gullberg & Greta Thott Trust Fund for permission to use lines from two poems by Hjalmar Gullberg: ‘Lägg din hand i min om du har lust!’ (Put your hand in mine if you so wish!) and ‘Människors möte’ (Human encounter); Erland Hemmer and Marie Louise Hemmer for permission to use a line from Jarl Hemmer’s poem ‘Stilla kväll’ (Still evening); Bengt Lagerkvist for permission to use lines from Pär Lagerkvist’s poems ‘Vem spelar i natten?’ (Who plays in the night?) and ‘Solig stig är full av under’ (Sunny path is full of wonder); Ehrlingförlagen AB for permission to use a verse from the song ‘Visa vid midsommartid’ (Song at midsummer time) by Rune Lindström; Finlands svenska författareförening (Society of Swedish Authors in Finland) for permission to use lines from Arvid Mörne’s poem ‘Ensam under fästet’ (Alone beneath the firmament) and lines from the poem ‘Jag var ett speglande vatten’ (I was a reflecting water) by Emil Zilliacus; Margaret Orbell for permission to use lines from her translation of the poem ‘Mātai rore au’ (Love song) attributed to an unknown Maori tribe; Stiftelsen Övralid (The Övralid Trust) for the permission to use lines from Verner von Heidenstam’s poem ‘Månljuset’ (The moonlight); Notfabriken Music Publishing AB for the licence to use one verse from the song ‘Veronica’, lyrics and music by Cornelis Vreewijk, copyright © 1968 Multitone AB, by Warner/Chappell Music Scandinavia AB, printed with permission from Notfabriken Music Publishing AB.

 

All translations by Linda Olsson unless otherwise stated. The translations make no attempt at conveying the poetic quality of the original work, but are here to give an idea of content only.

Bo Bergman, ‘Sömnlös’ (Sleepless) in
Äventyret (The adventure)
1969. Reprinted in Vera Almer and Sven Lindner (eds),
Bo Bergman: Dikter
1903–69, Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, 1986, p. 168.

Cornelis Vreeswijk, ‘Veronica’ from the album
Tio vackra visor och personliga Persson,
Metronome MLP 15313, 1968.

Emil Zilliacus, ‘Jag var ett speglande vatten’ (I was a reflecting water) in
Vandring (Wanderings),
1938. Reprinted in Tage Nilsson and Daniel Andreae (eds),
Lyrikboken, a Swedish anthology,
4th ed., Bokförlaget Forum AB, Stockholm, 1983, p. 765. (Hereafter Nilsson and Andreae.)

Erik Johan Stagnelius, ‘Vän i förödelsens stund’ (A friend in the moment of devastation), approx. 1818. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 634.

Hjalmar Gullberg, ‘Lägg din hand i min om du har lust!’ (Put your hand in mine if you so wish!) in
Sonat (Sonata).
Reprinted in
Hjalmar Gullberg dikter,
Månpocket, Stockholm, 1986, p. 76.

Edith Södergran, ‘Min framtid’ (My future) in
Landet som icke är
(
The land that is not
), 1925. Reprinted in
Edith Södergran samlade dikter,
Månpocket, Stockholm, 2002, p. 307.

Gunnar Ekelöf, ‘Grekland’ (Greece) in
Partitur (Score),
1969. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p.204.

Arvid Mörne, ‘Ensam under fästet’ (Alone beneath the firmament) in
Vandringen och vägen (The walk and the road),
1924. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 59.

Edith Södergran, ‘Sorger’ (Sorrows) in
Dikter
(
Poems
), 1916. Reprinted in
Edith Södergran samlade dikter
, Månpocket, Stockholm, 2002, p. 511.

Jarl Hemmer, ‘Stilla kväll’ (Still evening) in
Väntan (Waiting),
1922. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 347.

Erik Axel Karlfeldt, ‘Jungfru Maria’ (Virgin Mary) in
Fridolins lustgård och dalmålningar på rim (Fridolin’s pavilion and rhymed dalecarlia paintings)
. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 379–80

‘Limu, limu, lima’, Swedish folksong, anonymous.

Edith Södergran, ‘Triumfen att finnas till’ (The triumph of being) in
Septemberlyran (September lyre),
1918. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 669–70.

Bo Bergman, ‘Hjärtat’ (The heart) in
En människa (One human being),
1908. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 95.

Ragnar Ekelund, ‘Du är hos mig . . .’ (You are with me . . .) in
Ljust i mörkt (Lights in darkness),
1941. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 175.

Erik Blomberg, ‘Var inte rädd för mörkret’ (Do not fear the darkness) in
Jorden (The earth),
1920. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 111.

Dan Andersson, ‘Hemlös’ (Homeless) in
Svarta ballader (Black ballads),
1917. Reprinted in
Dan Andersson samlade dikter,
Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1989.

Johannes Edfelt, ‘Demaskering’ (Unmasking) in
Högmässa (Morning service),
1934. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 163.

Gustaf Fröding, ‘Strövtåg i hembygden’ (Strolls in my neighbourhood) in
Stänk och flikar (Drops and patches),
1895. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 264.

Gösta Friberg, ‘Ingen’ (Nobody) in
Växandet (Growth),
1976. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 256.

Pär Lagerkvist, ‘Vem spelar i natten?’ (Who plays in the night?) in
Kaos (Chaos),
1919. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 256.

Johan Ludvig Runeberg, ‘Minnet’ (The memory) in
Dikter. Tredje häftet (Poems. Third volume),
1843. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 552.

Karin Boye, ‘Tillägnan’ (Dedication) in
Härdarna
(The hearths), 1927,
www.karinboye.se

Rune Lindström, ‘Visa vid midsommartid’ (Song at midsummer time), AB Nordiska Musikförlaget, Stockholm, 1946.

Karin Boye, ‘Morgon’ (Morning) in
Moln (Clouds),
1922,
www.karinboye.se

Verner von Heidenstam,
Månljuset
(The moonlight) in
Nya dikter (New poems),
1915. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 340.

Karin Boye, ‘Du är min renaste tröst’ (You are my purest comfort) in
Moln (Clouds),
1922,
www.karinboye.se

Åke Gulin, ‘Skuggan i rummet’ (The shadow in the room) in
Kattguld (Tinsel),
1970. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 291.

Fleur Adcock, ‘Night-Piece’. Reprinted in Ian Wedde and Harvey McQueen (eds),
The Penguin book of New Zealand verse,
Penguin, Auckland, 1985, p. 386.

Dan Andersson, ‘Den hemlöse’ (The homeless) in
Efterlämnade dikter (Posthumous poems),
1915. Reprinted in
Dan Andersson samlade dikter,
Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1989.

Unknown Maori tribe, ‘Mātai rore au’ (Love song), trans. Margaret Orbell. Reprinted in Ian Wedde and Harvey McQueen (eds),
The Penguin book of New Zealand verse,
Penguin, Auckland, 1985, p. 69.

Rabbe Enckell, ‘Bäst bygges’ (Best you build) in
Sett och återbördat (Seen and returned),
1950. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 219.

Pär Lagerkvist, ‘Solig stig är full av under’ (Sunny path is full of wonder) in
Genius (Genius),
1937. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 418.

Minamoto no Shigeyuki, 960?–1000.

Karin Boye, ‘Stackars unge’ (Poor little child) in
De sju dödssynderna (The Seven Deadly Sins),
1941,
www.karinboye.se

Bo Bergman, ‘Stjärnornas hjälp’ (Help from the stars) in
Kedjan
(The chain), 1966. Reprinted in Vera Almer and Sven Lindner (eds),
Bo Bergman: Dikter 1903–69,
Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, 1986, p. 168.

Hjalmar Gullberg, ‘Människors möte’ (Human encounter) in
Att övervinna världen (To conquer the world),
1937. Reprinted in
Hjalmar Gullberg dikter
, Månpocket, Stockholm, 1986, p. 236.

Cornelis Vreeswijk, ‘Veronica’ from the album
Tio vackra visor och personliga Persson,
Metronome MLP 15313, 1968.

Helmer Grundström, ‘Må — ’ (May–) in
Prasslet i asparnas skog
(The rustling in the aspen forest), 1954. Reprinted in Nilsson and Andreae, p. 290.

Karin Boye, ‘Morgon’ (Morning) in
Moln (Clouds),
1922,
www.karinboye.se

Dan Andersson, ‘Epilog’ (Epilogue) in
Efterlämnade dikter
(Posthumous poems), 1920. Reprinted in
Dan Andersson samlade dikter,
Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1989.