We Own the Forests: and other Poems

by Hans Børli, Louis A. Muinzer (Translation)

Borli's verse is alive with his experiences of the Norwegian forests-with the moods of sky and water, with the creatures that moved in air and woodland, and with the trees themselves. This collection can only suggest the scope and richness of the poet's life-in-verse, but it includes many of his most admired poems. Sometimes lonely or even mystical, the finest of these poems bite deep like the blow of an axe. Parallel English and Norwegian text.

Genres: Poetry

164 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2005

About the author

Hans Børli var en norsk forfatter og skogsarbeider. Børli er skogens dikter over alle i norsk lyrikk. Blant hans mest kjente dikt er «Der skulle vi ha vøri, Kal» og «Louis Armstrong». Børli skrev også fortellinger og romaner (Fra SNL).

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

To all my friends and followers on Goodreads- BUY THIS BOOK. This collection of poetry from a Norwegian lumberjack-by-day-poet-by-night is far too excellent, far too important, to not be recognized. The words are haunting and beautiful, the ideas are elevated yet somehow seem distinctly for everyman. I took pictures of a dozen poems and sent them to my best friend, to my brother, posted them on facebook. I love it, I love it, I love it! I want Hans Borli to be discovered in America through these excellent translations. I am going to post three of my favorites, but please know, there were so many important versus. His poetry seems so perfect for 2017 that I really view it as something of a mini-miracle that this book fell into my lap. (Full disclosure one of his poems was referenced in another Norwegian book I’m reading about chopping wood, and I fell so in love with it I went seeking this copy).

After Auschwitz
It is hard
To look oneself in the eye
After what happened
At Auschwitz
At Hiroshima.
At Song My –

BUT DON’T TURN THE MIRROR.

Don’t think
That hell would have been possible
Without you and me.

One Thing’s Necessary
One thing's necessary – here
In this hard world of ours
Of homeless and outcast people:

Taking residence in yourself.

Walk into the darkness
And clean the soot from the lamp.

So that people on the roads
Can glimpse a light
In your inhabited eyes.


Report from the Grass Roots
I am a little ant.
A quiet falls upon the paths
And the great evening starts to dark in the woods.
All the sensible old wood-ants
Must be home long ago
With their pine needles – but I
Crawl in the twilight, with my pincers ready,
Upwards on a swaying blade of bent-grass.
Would be fine, you know,
To come back home tour anthill
Dragging a star…

[Nicholas Trandahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

To put it quite simply, as Hans Børli would, this is a good book. A damn good book. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb here and say that this translated collection of poems from this late Norwegian lumberjack pipesmoking poet is my favorite poetry collection I’ve ever read. His work was incredibly authentic and accessible, and yet at the same time beautiful and haunting and poignant, especially his later poems. Also, Børli’s poetry was wild and free, like the woods and the animals he loved so much. This is a poet after my own heart, and I am so happy I discovered his work.

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's easy, when you find yourself reading a book of poetry by a Norwegian lumberjack, to project some whimsical, Disneyfied wilderness imagery onto your expectations. You want it to be cozy and subtle and feel like a flannel blanket.

Borli is successful because the strength of his imagery can overcome the assumption that English speakers bring to the work. As a collection of published works over a lifetime, this volume shows the evolution of his skill as well his thematic focus. There is much in his quiet confidence, his defiant pacifism, his belief in his work to be admired.

Recommended broadly for poetry lovers as well as poetry skeptics, deep without being obtuse, lyrical without being too proud of itself.

[Melissa Helton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this. Having the poems side-by-side in English and Norsk was great for my language practice. As far as the poems, some really surprised me by discussing themes such as racial injustice in the US. Have found a new favorite poet.

[Emma Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lifetime of nature

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

gorgeous

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are into poetry and nature, this is a gem.

[Michelle Hoogterp · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC!

[Ophelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh,
this
book.
Hans Børli is such an intriguing individual. For some reason, I found him extremely easy to relate to. His genuineness and love for nature won me over at the first page.