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A Virgin from a Chilly Decade

A Virgin from a Chilly Decade

by Michael Strunge

Bilingual English / Danish edition

Translated by Bente Elsworth, with an introduction by John Fletcher

Part of our Visible Poets series edited by Jean Boase-Beier

Michael Strunge was one of the early voices of a poetic movement in Denmark which came to be known as the 'Poetry of the Eighties'. With the publication of his first collection in 1978 when he was only 20, he achieved almost instant recognition as a rebellious, angry poet who identified strongly with the poor and the socially sidelined.

His was essentially a voice for tolerance, and his ideal was the acceptance and tolerance of the different values and life-styles of old and young, misfit and conformist. Convinced of the power of language to effect change, he saw the poet as both creator and messenger.

Despite his success, Strunge became increasingly disillusioned and depressed. In 1986, at the age of 27, he committed suicide. A Virgin from a Chilly Decade brings together work from 8 of the 11 collections published during Strunge's short life.

Parallel text, Danish / English

Paperback
84 pages

ISBN 1-900072-48-3
Published January 2000

» About Michael Strunge