It is heard in the title: ”Mormorordning, hägringsöar”. How Kalle Hedström Gustafsson allows language tovas together with a good r audio that stands out. The tempo drops, the gaze is sharpened. This is the path not trodden, and it is necessary to be vigilant on the surrounding environment.
His debutdiktsamling makes me think of Birgitta Lillpers. She also writes a kind of powerful and kvistig prosalyrisk poetry, where the story and the landscape and the language are written together.
beginning at the Oxelösund’s harbour area, and forming themselves in three suites: ”Mormorordning”, ”Kvarglömd” and ”Hägringsö”. The dead grandmother represents diktsamlingens hub and the main theme. Self remember sovalkoven in the cottage and the common walks of the meadows, rocks and in woodlands. The image of her dead face returns: ”the Eyes are closed, her mouth open. Grandmother’s tongue has slipped down into the throat, it is like a dark hole in her head. I can’t look away.”
This dark hole lodas also down against the bronze age grave found in the grounds. Arkeologernas excavations korsklipps with his grandmother’s funeral, and recollections of her life. So the poem into an echo chamber for ages to come united by the place but are separated by chronology.
”Bronze Forgotten riters force,” writes Hedström Gustafsson, and I’m reminded of that bronze is not a natural metal but is an alloy. It must, therefore, be made, manufactured by hand, just like the poem coalesce ”granny” and ”order”. It is about getting together the hardest part (the death and life and time and space) but also stand out with that it becomes something else. Poetry perhaps. Or a fibula, which is the name for the ancient bronsspänne that the archaeologists found. And which is now reproduced in new materials.
book review: Birgitta Lillpers ”Notes on hay”
be read both as a poetics and an incantation:
”I do healing bronsriter. I establish the world of the obvious, parallel lines. This is the mainstream place”.
It is a big job, Hedström Gustafsson has given himself, and he is muscular with the help of sound, imagery, composition, and references. That debut is considered it is very stable and well implemented.
What I miss are some glimpses of humor and ease. The courage to let go and allow the words to swing freely. Or, if you want to go the other way: a deeper race down in the dark. As it is now composes Hedström Gustafsson compact in bronze. It is heavy and it keeps, no doubt about it. But it is also locked in a controlled location.
when the poet is approaching the small markdjuren: the beetles, it is necessary, larvae and crickets. As well as fräkenväxterna and baldersbrå, kråkvicker and stinknäva. All designated and named by her grandmother.
And maybe it is just that – that all so fast shall be withdrawn in the same context and story, which makes the collection closes on itself. This is the mainstream of the place. A ”hägringsö”, which Atterbom wrote. A fibula of bronze. A mormorsmonument. And a well-written debut by a poet who has everything to gain by recognizing the pain of the loss of control.