Poetik är konsten att tänka om poesi. Med Över vattnet går jag har Pia Tafdrup på ett personligt och skarpsinnigt sätt formulerat sin syn på diktkonstens villkor och möjligheter i vår tid. Poetiken har växt fram i närkontakt med hennes egen erfarenhet av vad det innebär att skriva dikt.
Pia Tafdrup is a Danish writer; primarily a poet, she has also written a novel and two plays, as well as works for radio. Pia Tafdrup's work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages, and her poetry collections "Spring Tide" (1989) and "Queen's Gate" (2001) have been translated into English. She was elected as a member of the Danish Literary Academy in 1989; she was awarded the Nordic Council's Literary Prize in 1999, and the Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize in 2006. In 2001, she was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog.