Sannel Larson
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Tomas Tranströmer - The Poet
At the moment I'm in the midst of reading “Selected Poems” by the Swedish poet and the winner of the Nobel Prize, Tomas Tranströmer. I have wanted to read this poet's work for so long, but never had the chance until now.This is one of those books I know, I'll never be finished reading. Not because it's no good, but because this book is endless reading. Page after page provides a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a fascinating poet. There is so much to discover within the poems of this Swedish writer, and I need to read his works over and over again, to be able to soak up everything he has to offer.Tranströmer takes you through so many emotions just with a few chosen words.There are few writers/poets who have that gift. This book will always hold a special place in my heart, as well as a special place on my nightstand.
The water is shining among the trees.
The lake is a window into the earth.
Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (Known to the world as author, Tomas Tranströmer) is a Swedish leading and most influential contemporary poet, psychologist and translator. Born 15 April 1931, in Stockholm. Tranströmer is very well known in his homeland Sweden, and is acclaimed as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since the Second World War. His books sell thousands of copies in Sweden. Besides being a brilliant writer, he also has a successful career as a respected psychologist behind him. Tranströmer is also known as a skilled literary translator, entomologist, and classical pianist.
Tomas Tranströmer is recently known for being awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature. He has now become the eight Swedish winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. However, he is no stranger to awards. He has already collected the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Bonnier Award for Poetry, the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings, the Petrarch-Preis in Germany, Swedish Academy’s Nordic Prize, the Oevralids Prize, and the Swedish Award from International Poetry Forum. In 2007, Tomas Tranströmer received a special Lifetime Recognition Award given by the trustees of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, which also awards the annual Griffin Poetry Prize.
Early life
Tranströmer was born to Gösta and Helmy Tranströmer. The father was a journalist and the mother a schoolteacher. At the age of three, the parents divorced and left the young boy with a strong void of a father figure in his life. As a student he received his secondary education at the Södra Latin School in Stockholm, where his interest for poetry started.
Tranströmer spent much of his childhood summers on Runmarö Island, a small Island in the Stockholm archipelago. Those summers and that landscape became the birth for his nostalgic and the aesthetic tradition of Swedish nature poems, Östersjöar (1974 ) Baltics (1975) and his memoir Minnena ser mig (1993 ) (The memories see me).
Tomas Tranströmer artistic talents showed early on in his life. As a child he started to play piano and beside the poetry it became another passion of his. Besides selected poems published in journals, his literary debut took place at the early age of 23. In 1954 this talented young man published his first collection of poems. 17 dikter (17 poems.) It has been considered one of the most acclaimed literary debuts of that decade.
The young man continued his education at Stockholm's University, graduating as a psychologist, with additional studies in literature, religion and history. After he graduated, he started to work in 1957, at the Institution for Psychometric at Stockholm University. In 1960, he was employed as a psychologist at the Roxtuna center for juvenile offenders. He worked there for six years while he continued to write poetry.
In 1958, he married Monica Blach, and has raised two daughters. In 1965, Tranströmer moved with his family to Västerås, one of the oldest cities in Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren where he spent the rest of his working life.
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| Can be purchased at Amazon |
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| Can be purchased at Amazon |
The Half-Finished Heaven
By
Tomas Tranströmer
Despondency breaks off its course.
Anguish breaks off its course.
The vulture breaks off its flight.
The eager light streams out,
even the ghosts take a draught.
And our paintings see daylight,
our red beasts of the ice-age studios.
Everything begins to look around.
We walk in the sun in hundreds.
Each man is a half-open door
leading to a room for everyone.
The endless ground under us.
The water is shining among the trees.
The lake is a window into the earth.
Tomas Tranströmer
Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (Known to the world as author, Tomas Tranströmer) is a Swedish leading and most influential contemporary poet, psychologist and translator. Born 15 April 1931, in Stockholm. Tranströmer is very well known in his homeland Sweden, and is acclaimed as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since the Second World War. His books sell thousands of copies in Sweden. Besides being a brilliant writer, he also has a successful career as a respected psychologist behind him. Tranströmer is also known as a skilled literary translator, entomologist, and classical pianist.
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| Tomas Tranströmer |
Tomas Tranströmer is recently known for being awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature. He has now become the eight Swedish winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. However, he is no stranger to awards. He has already collected the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Bonnier Award for Poetry, the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings, the Petrarch-Preis in Germany, Swedish Academy’s Nordic Prize, the Oevralids Prize, and the Swedish Award from International Poetry Forum. In 2007, Tomas Tranströmer received a special Lifetime Recognition Award given by the trustees of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, which also awards the annual Griffin Poetry Prize.
Early life
Tranströmer was born to Gösta and Helmy Tranströmer. The father was a journalist and the mother a schoolteacher. At the age of three, the parents divorced and left the young boy with a strong void of a father figure in his life. As a student he received his secondary education at the Södra Latin School in Stockholm, where his interest for poetry started.
Tranströmer spent much of his childhood summers on Runmarö Island, a small Island in the Stockholm archipelago. Those summers and that landscape became the birth for his nostalgic and the aesthetic tradition of Swedish nature poems, Östersjöar (1974 ) Baltics (1975) and his memoir Minnena ser mig (1993 ) (The memories see me).
Tomas Tranströmer artistic talents showed early on in his life. As a child he started to play piano and beside the poetry it became another passion of his. Besides selected poems published in journals, his literary debut took place at the early age of 23. In 1954 this talented young man published his first collection of poems. 17 dikter (17 poems.) It has been considered one of the most acclaimed literary debuts of that decade.
The young man continued his education at Stockholm's University, graduating as a psychologist, with additional studies in literature, religion and history. After he graduated, he started to work in 1957, at the Institution for Psychometric at Stockholm University. In 1960, he was employed as a psychologist at the Roxtuna center for juvenile offenders. He worked there for six years while he continued to write poetry.
In 1958, he married Monica Blach, and has raised two daughters. In 1965, Tranströmer moved with his family to Västerås, one of the oldest cities in Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren where he spent the rest of his working life.
Birds in human shape.
The apple trees in blossom.
The great enigma.
~Tomas Tranströmer~
~Tomas Tranströmer~
Tomas Tranströmer's Poetry
This poet's work is distinguished by a sense of mystery and unseen, underlying the routine of everyday life. He explores the connections between the visible and the invisible, the realms of the conscious and subconscious. A quality which often gives his poems a religious dimension. He has therefore been labeled as a Christian poet. Much of Tranströmer's poetry captures the world from a greater height along with the atmospheric beauty of the long harsh Swedish winters and the Swedish seasons along with its nature.
Tranströmer's most notable works are Klanger och spår (Windows and Stones) and Den stora gåtan (The Great Enigma.)
His poetry has been translated into over 60 languages and critics have held his poetry in high regard for its accessibility in the translations.
His longtime friendship with the American poet and author Robert Bly has made a big impact in the Swedish poet's life. The two poet's works are often read in conjunction. The American poet has also translated and edited some of Tranströmer's work. It was Robert Bly who first introducing his friend's work to the United States in 1960, and their of more 25 years of correspondence has been published in the book 'Air Mail.'
In 1990, a year after the publication of his tenth book of poems, he suffered a debilitating stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body and affected his speech. Despite this, he hasn't let his paralysis stop him. In 1996, he published his collection, Sorgegondolen (Grief Gondola). The poet continues to write, producing over five new works since his stroke, including his memoirs. After his stroke he has remarkably trained himself to play the piano with his left hand. Tranströmer has developed into a proficient pianist and often performs one handed piano concerts in Sweden and throughout Europe.
Tranströmer's most notable works are Klanger och spår (Windows and Stones) and Den stora gåtan (The Great Enigma.)
His poetry has been translated into over 60 languages and critics have held his poetry in high regard for its accessibility in the translations.
His longtime friendship with the American poet and author Robert Bly has made a big impact in the Swedish poet's life. The two poet's works are often read in conjunction. The American poet has also translated and edited some of Tranströmer's work. It was Robert Bly who first introducing his friend's work to the United States in 1960, and their of more 25 years of correspondence has been published in the book 'Air Mail.'
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| Can be purchased at Amazon |
In 1990, a year after the publication of his tenth book of poems, he suffered a debilitating stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body and affected his speech. Despite this, he hasn't let his paralysis stop him. In 1996, he published his collection, Sorgegondolen (Grief Gondola). The poet continues to write, producing over five new works since his stroke, including his memoirs. After his stroke he has remarkably trained himself to play the piano with his left hand. Tranströmer has developed into a proficient pianist and often performs one handed piano concerts in Sweden and throughout Europe.
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| Kindle Edition- The Great Enigma Can be Purchased at Amazon |
An excerpt from "Face to Face
In February living stood still.
The birds flew unwillingly and the soul
chafed against the landscape as a boat
chafes against the pier it lies moored to.
~Tomas Tranströmer~
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Reader's Favorite Gave a Five-Star Review for Melvin!
Melvin. . . Bad, bad kitten!
by
Sannel Larson
Received a Five-Star Review
by
Reader's Favorite
Children-Animals
34 Pages
Reviewed on 09/17/2013
Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite
Book Review:
Melvin. . . Bad, bad kitten! by Sannel Larson is an absolutely delightful book about the antics of Melvin the cat. The book is adorable and will remind you of the antics of the pets you have at home. You will start looking them in a different light after reading this amusing book. All pets have an identity of their own and Melvin has his. The author has written it in a very silly manner with some rhyming verses that will appeal to small children. Melvin is a naughty kitten that makes children laugh with his behavior.
It's a beautiful book of verses which the author has penned, keeping in mind the youthful audience. Children love to read anything silly and light and the author has written just that with Melvin, the cat, as the main character of the book. The illustrations are really cute. I found the illustration with the strawberry nose hilarious. The illustrator has also created something that is so appealing to a child.
The author's love for children is evident in the book. It is one of the cutest cat stories/verses I have read in recent times. It is so difficult to say what I liked most about the book. Everything is so appealing and cuddly. Kids are also introduced to rhyming verses in a very subtle way, getting them into reading verses and trying to write or recite small rhyming poems. Absolutely delightful and a treat for young readers.
It's a beautiful book of verses which the author has penned, keeping in mind the youthful audience. Children love to read anything silly and light and the author has written just that with Melvin, the cat, as the main character of the book. The illustrations are really cute. I found the illustration with the strawberry nose hilarious. The illustrator has also created something that is so appealing to a child.
The author's love for children is evident in the book. It is one of the cutest cat stories/verses I have read in recent times. It is so difficult to say what I liked most about the book. Everything is so appealing and cuddly. Kids are also introduced to rhyming verses in a very subtle way, getting them into reading verses and trying to write or recite small rhyming poems. Absolutely delightful and a treat for young readers.
Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Mediterranean Cooking - Means Healthy Eating
Greece will always be my "second home" in my heart. Greece was the place I enjoyed cooking more than usual. I guess the lovely surroundings and the gorgeous weather has something to do with it, but the main reason probably is the abundance of fresh local vegetables. The Greeks feel the need to share what nature has provided, and it's so charming to have my next door neighbors bringing me vegetables and fruit from their gardens, like tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, watermelons or whatever that's in season.
As a vegetarian, I find the Greek cuisine to be extremely satisfying, since fresh vegetables, olive oil and herbs are the basics in most of the dishes. However, meat can be added to many of the dishes, or they all can be excellent side dishes to those who prefers a piece of meat, chicken or fish to go with their meal.
Eggplants (aubergines) are popular in Greek cooking and very versatile. I believe, I could write a Greek cookbook alone, about this immensely useful and tasteful vegetable.
I'll share with you one of my favorite Greek eggplant dishes. This dish has all the classic Greek tastes; eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, olive oil and oregano. During the extremely hot season, I usually cooked the meal in the morning, to be eaten cold for lunch or dinner. It's more tasteful that way. However, it can be enjoyed as a hot meal as well.
Greek Stew of Eggplant and Potatoes ( Melitzanes sti Katsarola)
Eggplants (aubergines) are popular in Greek cooking and very versatile. I believe, I could write a Greek cookbook alone, about this immensely useful and tasteful vegetable.
I'll share with you one of my favorite Greek eggplant dishes. This dish has all the classic Greek tastes; eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, olive oil and oregano. During the extremely hot season, I usually cooked the meal in the morning, to be eaten cold for lunch or dinner. It's more tasteful that way. However, it can be enjoyed as a hot meal as well.
Greek Stew of Eggplant and Potatoes ( Melitzanes sti Katsarola)
Prep Time: 25 minutes
6 tbsp of olive oil
1 1/4 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of oregano
Crumbled Feta cheese. Can be replaced with Graviera.
Directions:
Heat 6 tbsp of oil in a deep stew pot.
Saute the onions until tender.
Add the, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, eggplants, parsley, potatoes, pulped tomatoes, olive oil, salt , pepper and oregano
Mix until well combined.
Saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add the water.
Bring to a boil.
Lower the heat. Cover.
Let it cook over medium heat for 30-35 minutes or until the potatoes are done and most of the juices are absorbed.
Take the pot off from the heat.
Sprinkle the feta cheese or Graviera cheese on top, and let it melt.
Serve it hot or cold with olives and a slice of feta cheese.
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients:
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients:
1 pound of eggplants, peel half the skin away from the eggplants in long strips, so that they look stripy. Cut in egg-sized chunks
2 pounds of potatoes, peeled, cut in large chunks
2 medium red onions, (finely diced)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
2 Carrots (diced)
1 bunch of fresh parsley, (chopped)
2 cups of pulped stewed tomatoes (or 1 can tinned tomatoes, pureed)
2 medium red onions, (finely diced)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
2 Carrots (diced)
1 bunch of fresh parsley, (chopped)
2 cups of pulped stewed tomatoes (or 1 can tinned tomatoes, pureed)
6 tbsp of olive oil
1 1/4 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of oregano
Crumbled Feta cheese. Can be replaced with Graviera.
Directions:
Heat 6 tbsp of oil in a deep stew pot.
Saute the onions until tender.
Add the, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, eggplants, parsley, potatoes, pulped tomatoes, olive oil, salt , pepper and oregano
Mix until well combined.
Saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add the water.
Bring to a boil.
Lower the heat. Cover.
Let it cook over medium heat for 30-35 minutes or until the potatoes are done and most of the juices are absorbed.
Take the pot off from the heat.
Sprinkle the feta cheese or Graviera cheese on top, and let it melt.
Serve it hot or cold with olives and a slice of feta cheese.
Bon Appetite! Or as we say in Greece; Kali Orixi!
Sannel
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Hippocrates taught us,
“Nutrition should be your medicine.”
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Monday, August 12, 2013
Vincent Moore - The Canadian Poet
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| Three Books of Poetry Vincent Moore's three books of poetry are finally available in print. His latest “In Passionata” is one of them. |
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| The Canadian Poet |
Vincent Moore is a Canadian poet born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. He grew up in a predominantly Irish area known as Point St. Charles. Life in The Point during the 1950s, and 1960s, is the inspiration for much of his work and the result is a poignant and poetic marriage of tenderness and pain. He now resides on the Canadian Prairies.
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| Vincent Moore |
On his website this talented and intriguing poet will share his poetic journey with each and every one of us. His unique poetry is deeply soul stirring and will not leave his reader untouched.
A while back ago, I purchased the Kindle version of the book “In Melancholia” It's a Poetic compilation of memories, thoughts and emotions of this poet's darker side of his childhood. Through his pen he writes about poverty, violence, booze and pain, so strong and gripping, that many times, I can't hold back my tears. “
A while back ago, I purchased the Kindle version of the book “In Melancholia” It's a Poetic compilation of memories, thoughts and emotions of this poet's darker side of his childhood. Through his pen he writes about poverty, violence, booze and pain, so strong and gripping, that many times, I can't hold back my tears. “
Life can be cruel yet only we can help ourselves to crawl from the darkness of despair” is an excerpt from “In Melancholia.” Vincent Moore is a survivor and a true example of finding his way out of the darkness by following his poetic path, and to become one of today's greatest poets.
Vincent Moore makes us understand, the heart of his healing is through his burning pen, and through his writing he inspires and brings hope to so many of his readers.
Not only do I admire his strength, compassion and wisdom but also for the very fine and brilliant writer that he is. To catch the essence of this amazing man you have to read his work, and I promise you, you'll fall in love with this poet and his gifted quill as much as I have.
I have just purchased his third and latest poetry book " In Passionata," but in a printed form this time. I can hardly wait to hold it in my hands. I'm so happy that this poet finally decided to let his fans/followers have the ability to purchase his poetry in a printed form. It's a stunning collection of poetry to own.
Sannel.
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| "In Melancholia" can be purchased at Vincent Moore's Website |
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| In Absinthia can be purchased at Vincent Moore's Website |
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