Thomas Tidholm

Tidholm was a very important writer to me in my late teens and early twenties. Two of his books – “Oroliga historier” and “Friluftsliv I strandområden” (translating as “Un-funny stories” and “Outdoors activities in coastal areas”) are probably the books of poetry I’ve read the most times. Tidholm has a way of using very concrete, slightly absurd images – losing your sandwiches in the forest , or remembering how awkward you felt on a vacation trip ten years ago – to pinpoint that everyday feeling of loneliness and alienation. He does it with a mild sense of humor and sad wonder, in a way that rings so so true to me.

In this book (“A booklet about pain”, named after a pharmacy publication) there are a few poems like that. I love the one about the woman who watches the stars come out at nightfall, after getting her tongue stuck to a lamp post in the cold. Or the one about letting some sad pointless scouts use your windows for spying on the neighborhood. But most of this book is more abstract and less accessible.… (altro)