2022
Is it possible to make peace with being abandoned? Where do you turn when your mother takes her own life? How can you acknowledge that which is perhaps unacknowledgeable? And what do we do in nature when nature is unable to understand us?
I Want to Wake to the World reaches for the dead, for the world, and for an understanding of and reconciliation with childhood and death. Grief and a longing for freedom are expressed through visions, fantasies and revelations, along with ruthless logical observations. This is a collection of open and intimate poems, which despite their deep sadness express a profound faith in the world.
One of this year’s strongest books is a poetry collection by a debut author.
These existential poems feels necessary right now. They are best read slowly, as we move into the new year.
Brændjord’s first book is a luminous poetry collection about grief and reconciliation. This is poetry that is both naked and imaginative, despairing and hopeful. Deeply personal, it goes right to the heart of what it means to be human.
What makes such an impression is the author’s linguistic skill.
Incredibly, this is a lively, positive and humorous poetry collection about the suicide of a close family member. A stunning debut.
Karoline Brændjord takes on an extremely difficult task – and is hugely successful in her completion of it.
A luminous literary voice.
Karoline Brændjord
May Therese Vorland
