Pia Tafdrup is a Danish writer whose work is characterized by a profound exploration of human existence and language. Her poetic style is evocative and rhythmic, often delving into themes of the body, nature, and the fluidity of life. Tafdrup investigates the connection between the internal and external worlds, finding beauty in the ordinary. Her writing is both introspective and universal, resonating with readers across diverse backgrounds.
Pia Tafdrup is one of Denmark's leading poets. The Taste of Steel and The Smell of Snow are the first two collections in her new series of books focussing on the human senses. While taste and smell dominate, the poems are equally about the way of the world and the losses that people sustain during the course of their lives.
In 1999, Queen's Gate, Pia Tafdrup's ninth book, won Scandinavia's most prestigious literary award, the Nordic Council Literature Prize. Now available in English in a lovely rendition by David McDuff, English language readers can experience this outstanding poet's celebrated collection. "From water you have come," writes Tafdrup, creating her own myth through a sequence of highly sensual poems centered on water in all its forms. This is a composite picture of the basic elements of the life-cycle of nature and man, mirrored through a conceptual world that takes the body as its axis, in poetic language of great visual and emotional power. The poems are written from a female point of view, and reflect the whole story of human life and suffering.
Two new collections by one of Denmark's leading poets, brought together in one volume in English translation.