Retrospections and allusions of the "Möln Elegy". To the first book

MOSCOW. The book of the Swedish writer Gunnar Ekelef was first published in Russian.

Publisher Ad Marginem finally compensated for the negligible number of works by the classic of Swedish literature Gunnar Ekelöf in Russian. On the shelves of bookstores appeared his epic "Möln elegia" (En Mölna-elegi). The 23 years devoted to this work are comparable to the asceticism of the artist Alexander Ivanov, who put 20 years of his life on “The Appearance of Christ to the People.” Until now, the most famous and resonant in response to readers was considered a selection of poems by a modernist writer, published in the journal "Foreign Literature" in 1997. Medieval historian, cultural expert of the Scandinavian countries Andrei Shcheglov proposed the most appropriate and careful version of the transfer of the poetry of the Swedish writer into Russian.

Nadezhda Voinova worked on the poem Möln Elegy, which considers the lack of translations of large works by the Swedish author to be a consequence of their complexity and even elitism. However, provided with notes and detailed explanations that help to understand endless allusions, quotes and stylizations, the text is transformed from a feast for the elite, specialist philologists, advanced connoisseurs into an intellectual adventure and enjoyment for the average reader. Especially if the word "education" is not associated with the ability to quote several lines from Pushkin without hesitation, not to get confused in the multiplication table and recall a couple of formulas, but with the desire for continuous development and comprehension of the world. The Möln Elegy is the quintessence of the writer’s preferences in various fields of knowledge, art, and religion. And the bizarre intersections of surrealism, mythology, existentialism, history, mysticism, unexpected transformations and retrospectives, juxtaposition of poetry and music are an additional incentive to get acquainted with Gunnar Ekölöf’s main book.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru