The Condition of Secrecy is a poignant collection of essays by Inger
Christensen, widely regarded as one of the most influential Scandinavian
writers of the twentieth century. As The New York Times proclaimed,
"Despite the rigorous structure that undergirds her work--or more
likely, because of it--Ms. Christensen's style is lyrical, even
playful." The same could be said of Christensen's essays. Here, she
formulates with increasing clarity the basis of her approach to writing,
and provides insights into how she composed specific poetry volumes.
Some essays are autobiographical (with memories of Christensen's school
years during the Nazi occupation of Denmark), and others are political,
touching on the Cold War and Chernobyl. The Condition of Secrecy also
covers the Ars Poetica of Lu Chi (261-303 CE); William Blake and Isaac
Newton; and such topics as randomness as a universal force and the role
of the writer as an agent of social change. The Condition of Secrecy
confirms that Inger Christensen is "a true singer of the syllables" (C.
D. Wright), and "a formalist who makes her own rules, then turns the
game around with another rule" (Eliot Weinberger).