Penguin Modern European Poets: Paavo Haavikko and Tomas Tranströmer

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The 1950s saw a major breakthrough in Finnish poetry when such modernists as Paavo Haavikko turned away from national idealism. The poetry of Haavikko, who has emerged as the most original of these poets, is remarkable for its lyricism and exceptionally direct imagery.Tomas Tranströmer, a contemporary Swedish poet, draws on a long tradition of Swedish nature poetry, and combines a wide viewpoint with a sharp focus on particular details. This selection ranges from his early, somewhat mystical poems to his later, more explicit work.