Awarded the American-Scandinavian PEN Translation Prize by Michael
Hamburger, Susanna Nied's translation of alphabet introduces Inger
Christensen's poetry to US readers for the first time. Born in 1935,
Inger Christensen is Denmark's best known poet. Her award-winning
alphabet is based structurally on Fibonacci's sequence (a mathematical
sequence in which each number is the sum of the two previous numbers),
in combination with the alphabet. The gorgeous poetry herein reflects a
complex philosophical background, yet has a visionary quality,
discovering the metaphysical in the simple stuff of everyday life. In
alphabet, Christensen creates a framework of psalm-like forms that
unfold like expanding universes, while crystallizing both the beauty and
the potential for destruction that permeate our times.