There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die: Selected Poems

I love Tove, and this book it's amazing

Tove Ditlevsen is reported to have a positive literary reputation in her native Denmark, and it is my understanding that she is widely read among the populace and her poems are read and memorized by schoolchildren. My unfamiliarity with her large library of published titles among various genres: poetry, fiction, memoir, etc., means that I can enjoy the "discovery" of her work as if I had stumbled upon something entirely new. I started my journey into her catalog with The Copenhagen Trilogy, her excellent and noteworthy memoir collection. So I was prepared to respond right away to an opportunity to dive into her poetry. The experience has been gratifyingly positive. This collection gathers poems from her entire career, with selections from each of her published poetic works. Her style and her approach to form relaxes and expands as she grows and matures, giving the reader an opportunity to enjoy the development of her considerable skill.Many of the poems included have a rawness and honesty that leaps off the page. I read "To My Dead Child" at a local bar. My face must have betrayed my reaction to sadness on the page, as my friend the bartender asked what I was thinking. I shared the book with her so she could read the poem herself. She was similarly moved, and told me later that she was never going to forget reading it.I was struck by these lines from Deception:Until a gesture as unconsciousas the flower’s quiet turning towards the sunnow and then leaves my face unguardedand revives your old, angry hopes.(I'm thinking of memorizing this one for myself.)Another quote that arrested my attention, from The Family:There is no curefor family.It knows youtoo well tolove youand toolittle to care foryour company.This is one of those books that I will reread as soon as I've finished, just so I can enjoy the experience again right away. Ditlevsen may be familiar to many readers, but I'm glad I could finally come along for the ride. HIghly recommended.

After reading the background on the author, I was extremely interested in the poetry, and looked forward to reading. I was surprised by how much imagery and feeeling were conveyed, and many of the poems engage the idea of aging, being a woman, and finding your place in the world with a changing identity. Some of the poems are very sad and difficult, and made me feel for the poet and what she must have been through to feel such sadness and struggle. These are poems that many women can identify with, considering the difficulty of holding so many roles.The author is able to express so many major themes of adulthood and feminitity, poverty, aging, and the loss of loved ones in a way that both tells stories and builds worlds through lovely images and heartbreaking realizations. I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys poetry in translation, gender studies topics, is discovering their identity, or struggling with some major traumas they may need help working through. There are some poems that just feel deeply sad, without resolution or any cheerfulness, much like some events in life. I felt like the voice of the author was very clear and vulnerable, as pointed out by the translators at the end. This could be really helpful for someone needing real and honest truths about things they may be feeling.

There was a splotchy inky stain towards the last page of the book. Im guessing it was a misprinted copy.