Scroll down for a review of "Procession of Memories", Nov. 27th/18. 2 books by Martinson reviewed in this segment. At this time, no further reviews are anticipated.
ANIARA
Cover artist uncredited. Avon printing September 1976.
Harry Martinson (1904-1978) was a Swedish writer and former sailor. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1974. He committed suicide in 1978. He was not prolific, and many of his poems remain untranslated. I will still try and seek out more of his writing.
Aniara was first fully published in 1956. My version lasts for 133 pages, including a glossary and notes. There is a separate introduction of 12 pages by Dr. Toro Hall, which is quite good. The translation of the work is by Hugh MacDiarmid and Elspeth Harley Schubert. The work consists of 103 cantos. While it is easily read at one sitting, it is not so easily digested in that time. No sooner had I completed the book then I planned to reread it. This review is based on one reading. I will ad comments, if needed, after each subsequent reading.
I was surprised to see a new movie of Aniara released in September (2018) at the Toronto Film Festival! How amazing is that?? If I get to see it I will report on it here! Martinson has created one of the great works of literature, melding it beautifully with science. Each canto has plenty to keep one's interest, as a mighty immigrant-filled spaceship veers off course. Instead of reaching Mars, it heads out, unsteerable, into deep space, with its 8,000 inhabitants and full crew. We travel with them for 24 years, when the final canto indicates that there is no more life on board. At all. Ever.
I could easily quote something from every canto, but I will limit myself to just a few instances. In #47, a philosopher comes in to ask a question of the female pilot, who is also the top mathematician. His question concerns the frequency of wonders in the universe, gauged by point set mathematics. But he does not get his answer, because, as it is pointed out to him, "... It appears that Chance and Miracle have a common source, and consequently the same answers would seem valid for both....".
In Canto #77 they pass a burned out star, drifting in the void. "[It was] one of many dark stars standing invisible in endless night in the cemeteries of space....".
In Canto #85, the narrator tries to bring us a sense of the vastness of our one galaxy, itself one of billions like it. "The richest of the languages we know ... has some 3 million words, but the galaxy you are watching now contains far more than 90 billion suns. Has any human brain ever mastered all the words in the language... Not a single one! Now do you understand? And yet--do you?"
In #99 Earth's star is now just one of the background stars, and while they seemingly lie close to one another, in fact the stars are very far apart. "Each star was a martyr of the void."
Of course this is a very depressing book. I have rarely encountered such melancholy. One of the saddest moments is when the pilot discovers a huge advance in mathematics, something that would have been invaluable back on Earth, and caused a sensation. But the amazing discovery is destined to remain forever on board Aniara. Earth itself has now been destroyed, adding to the mood of despair. Eventually nearly everyone comes to realize what we once had, now destroyed by war and greed, along with the destroyers.
To name only one author who was profoundly affected by this book, Norman Spinrad based his fascinating sequence of Void books on Martinson's work. Riding The Torch, The Void Captain's Tale (almost a rewrite of Martinson's story), and even Child of Fortune all owe their existence to Aniara, as filtered through Spinrad's incredible pen. Very few writers know how to deal with the void of space, but Spinrad and Martinson certainly do.
This is a book of stunning mastery, and if it doesn't leave you in a completely different state of being after reading it, you are likely an android that needs updating. Highly recommended. Don't be put off by the fact that it is an epic poem; it reads like a very good story. But of course it is so much more.
****+ stars. Reviewed October 21st/18
THE PROCESSION OF MEMORIES
Cover painting by the author, entitled "Portrait of a Stoker."
Published in 2009, this book contains prose and poems from the author's youth, up to the end of WW 2. None of the poems had been previously published in English. The book is 121 pages, with the left side of the page giving the original Swedish, and the right hand page in English. Though the book is very short, it contains many treasures. There is an introduction by the translator, where we learn of Harry's broken youth, also nicely described in Martinson's poem entitled "Awakening." He became a sailor at 16, and his poems and prose about the sea are truly marvellous reading. He was a vagabond as well, and his poems often have a solemn lonliness and unsettled quality to them.
Almost every poem has something to recommend it, whether it is a verse, a line, or even a few words that grab us with their depth and power. I ended up with numerous favourite poems, though, as well as the two prose works. "The Bell Buoy" tells the tale of bell buoy #2, and it is remarkable for making us think so differently about such a utilitarian and prolific commodity, something sailors take for granted, like the seagull that sits upon it at times. Also very moving, though also horrifying, is the prose called "Convoy Painted in Camouflage," as we get to witness an attack by a German submarine on a helpless convoy of ships a thousand miles from shore.
The poems come in many sizes and shapes, but most are very concise. Nature, childhood, ships, travels, and even astronomy are all themes encountered in this collection. Favourite poems include, but are not limited to, Anni, Children, Poverty, Opera, The Juniper, In June, D.H. Lawrence, and Visit To An Observatory. Great stuff, and very easy to approach, and hopefully revisit often.
**** stars. Reviewed Nov. 27th/18
Complete proof read on March 12th/19
Mapman Mike
