TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THROUGH NAKED BRANCHES: SELECTED POEMS OF TARJEI VESAAS, translated and edited by Roger Greenwald

T H R O U G H

N A K E D B R A N C H E S

SELECTED POEMS OF TARJEI VESAAS
REVISED BILINGUAL EDITION

Translated, edited, and introduced by Roger Greenwald

WINNER OF THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION TRANSLATION PRIZE

(N.B. This book has 198 pages. The last page numbered with Arabic numerals is 150 because the front matter is numbered with Roman numerals.)

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS   ix

INTRODUCTION   xi

    FROM THE SOURCES / KJELDENE (1946)
Snow and Spruce Forest / Snø og granskog   5
Snow in a Face / Snø i eit andlet   9
March 1945 / Mars 1945   11
Dark Ships Coming / Mørke skip innover   13
The Horse / Hesten   15

    FROM THE GAME AND THE LIGHTNING /
    LEIKEN OG LYNET (1947)
The Loons Head North / Lomen går mot nord   21
The Smell of Spring / Vårlukten   23
A Word in the Fall / Eit ord om hausten   25
Late, in the Yard / Seint i tunet   27
Between Blue Shadows / Mellom blå skuggar   29
You and I Completely Still / Du og eg heilt stille   31
Dead Lake / Død sjø   33
Outside the Wind Whispers / Ute susar vinden   35
Farther and Farther Away (To a Writer) /
    Lenger og lenger bort (Til ein diktar)   39
The Logger / Køyrekaren   41
The Lightning / Lynet   43
Rain in Hiroshima / Regn i Hiroshima   45

    FROM THE WANDERER’S REWARD /
    LYKKA FOR FERDESMENN (1949)
Where the Fire Burned / Der logen brann   49
The Serpent’s Way / Ormens veg over berget   51
Booming under Ice / Dunder under is   53
The Glass Wall / Glasveggen   55
And Then There Was the Dream / Slik var den draumen   57
Endlessly Rowing / Det ror og ror   59

    FROM LAND OF HIDDEN FIRES /
    LØYNDE ELDARS LAND (1953)
The Boat on Land / Båten ved land   65
The Footprints / Sporet   67
The Skewed House / Huset på tvers   69
We Fill the Widest Nights / Vi fyller dei vidaste nettene   73
Shadows on the Point / Skuggane på neset   75
Heat / Hete   79

    FROM BE NEW, DREAM OF OURS /
    VER NY, VÅR DRAUM (1956)
The Boat / Båten   89
A Nameless Ring in the Wood / Ein namnlaus ring i veden   91

    FROM LIFE AT THE STREAM /
    LIV VED STRAUMEN (1970)
The Small Rodents / Dei små gnagarane   97
Sun-corner / Sol-krå   99
The Boat and the Fish / Båten og fisken   101
Life at the Stream / Liv ved straumen   103
Through Naked Branches / Gjennom nakne greiner   109
From the Stoop / Frå stogetrammen   111
Journey / Reisa   113
The Bird / Fuglen   115
A Little Disturbance / Ei lita uro   117
The Boats on the Sand / Båtane på sanden   119
The Dark Eye / Det mørke auget   121
Shy Word / Sky ord   125
Underworld / I underjorda   127
In Thrall: on The Great Sinking /
    MARE om Det Store Sòg   129
The Mountain That Wept (A Picture Painted by Sigmund Lystrup) /
    Berget som gret (Eit bilete måla av Sigmund Lystrup)   133

NOTES   135

APPENDIX: A TARJEI VESAAS COLLAGE   137

INDEX TO NORWEGIAN TITLES   145

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