The first time I became aware of Morten Langeland’s writing, the poet was alas, so alone! He walked along the street (admittedly accompanied by some friends) in the book “Barbar” (2020), up and down the streets of an Oslo of today. But all the time with a historical awareness. Images and fragments of text kept appearing, pointing in the direction of ancient places and poets. I think that Morten Langeland combines historical awareness with refined contemporary understanding. Listen to the review of “Til mote”: Good heart and mood. This applies regardless of whether the up to now nine books are labeled poetry or prose. Perhaps that is why he reminds me of Jan Erik Vold, as Vold appeared in the poem classic “Mor Godhjerta’s happy version. Yes” (1968). In “Til mote” some new elements have been added. The poet has got a girlfriend. I was about to say thank goodness! He has become together with someone called Elise. She exists in reality, and runs the International Fashion Library (IFLR), a library for fashion magazines, at the National Museum in Oslo. She travels around Europe and meets people in the fashion world, and collects new objects for her collection. Langeland keeps a log of it all. Trains are the preferred means of transport. Elise has a baby in her belly, conceived in the train toilet. The first page of the collection of poems also serves as a table of contents: on the train, on the go, I came up with a form for me it has been the engine that led me to completely new problems, the form is as following three lines – so-called three verses – in four stanzas per page, the content which follows: a tribute poem to my sweetheart and a teaching poem to my unborn daughter Lille Trille, and don’t think that I know much more than that the teacher always learns the most, for example that a poem needs a place, so you want a travel poem with a little contemporary and a lot of alone time have you hopped on the right train, we will soon arrive in Paris, the hotbed of the fashion molo. The textiles are in turn woven together, almost sewn into European history. It could be the cut of the soldiers’ uniforms, or the fact that the French revolutionary sans culottes wore wide trousers, in contrast to the breeches of the aristocrats. The greats of the fashion world, dead and alive, pass revue. Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano – all well-known names to those interested in fashion. The rest of us can google it. References to the real world are not the problem. To the extent that Langeland runs into problems, it has to be when he lands in the private and mundane. I’m a little unsure of how much I’ll get out of knowing that Minister of Business Jan Christian Vestre was smitten with his chosen one during a panel discussion led by Langeland’s girlfriend. At the same time, I like how Langeland dirties his poems with contemporaneity, so to speak in real time. But the main reason for seeking out this collection of poems lies in the sometimes spectacularly good sentences. There are a lot of them here, that is. Fear of the future The reference to the unborn daughter, a move last seen by Knausgård in his Seasonal Quartet, could quickly also end up in the private and sleazy. When this does not happen, it has to do with the poet’s fear of the future. The fear applies both on a macro level – where is the world going, and on a micro level: Engels and Bourgeois were both children of textile factory owners I work wholesale, say yes to all assignments, can’t get a permanent job I don’t stretch to anymore, the inheritance will soon end, I don’t know and I can’t say anything to your mother and I don’t know what else before I always thought that I would hang myself when it doesn’t work anymore but it seems to get over you, so it doesn’t work anymore Will the two parents be able to keep together? Clear the expenses? She who sits with the face is in her stomach, but will live in a different reality than us. We do not know what the future will bring, but right now this book exists as a physical phenomenon in the world. Fashion is also text. A book is also an accessoire. And when it’s like that, why not do it properly? It is no disadvantage that “Til mote” in Julie Kristensen’s design – looks very nice. It is the kind of book that I would like to be seen with. Read Langeland and be happy. You will go a long way with this book on your next train journey in Europe. news reviewer Photo: Cappelen Damm Title: “Til mote” Author: Morten Langeland Publisher: Flamme forlag Genre: Poetry Pages: 233 Date: 1 August 2023 Hi! I read and review literature in news. Please also read my review of “Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck, “Details” by Ia Genberg, or Franz Kafka’s “The Process” translated by Jon Fosse.
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“Til mote” by Morten Langeland – Reviews and recommendations
