April 14, 2008

Papa Poems From Siv Widerberg's I'm Like Me

It's not perfect, but it's a perfect artifact of the era: The 1973 collection of poems by Swedish poet/writer/school teacher Siv Widerberg was published by The Feminist Press under the title, "I'm Like Me: Poems for people who want to grow up equal." They're translated by Verne Moberg. It's hard to excerpt a poem, so I'll just post a couple of short ones, dad-related ones, so you can get a flavor of pre-Ikea Swedish childhood:

Papa
My papa can drive a car
My papa can fix electric motors
My papa can carry heavy, heavy things
My papa can quarrel with Uncle Carl
My papa can fry beef fried with onions
My papa can be kind
and comfort me when I cry

But can he cry himself?

I don't know

___


The Papa Beat The Boy
The papa beat the boy
and the boy beat his wife

"I got licked
when I was little
and it didn't hurt me
any,"
said the boy

"But it hurts me though,"
said his wife
(hitting the baby who screamed)

Buy your own vintage copy of I'm Like Me, poems by Siv Widerberg, at Abebooks, $1-12 [abebooks]

3 Comments

You forgot to mention that I translated I'M LIKE ME, by Siv Widerberg, and you did not ask permission from me to deal with it.

Verne Moberg

One of those statements is correct. The translation and publishing information was and has always been fully credited above. Since I was reporting on the nearly forgotten existence of the book--which I bought--and providing readers with all the necessary links and information to buy a copy themselves, I felt fully justified to "deal with" the book conscientiously as I did without seeking permission.

I see that this post is one of the top Google results for the book, you, and Mr. Widerberg. If you would prefer to have the poems deleted instead of promoted, contextualized, and discussed, I will, of course, oblige you.

Perhaps if it weren't the end of a long day and the end of a long week, I'd be more solicitous in the face of an inaccurate and unjust complaint.

I am fond of literature and poetry in general, but especially I like poems by Georg Trakl - http://www.ebook-search-queen.com/ebook/twen/twenty-poems-of-georg-trakl.all.html

Google DT


Contact DT

Daddy Types is published by Greg Allen with the help of readers like you.
Got tips, advice, questions, and suggestions? Send them to:
greg [at] daddytypes [dot] com

Join the [eventual] Daddy Types mailing list!


Archives

copyright

copyright 2024 daddy types, llc.
no unauthorized commercial reuse.
privacy and terms of use
published using movable type