The Dream We Carry: Selected and Last Poems of Olav Hauge (Norwegian and English Edition) Paperback – October 1, 2008

Norway's much-loved poet, Olav H. Hauge, writes plainly in short, contained poems. One could say that they are styled like Haiku when just enough is said. The compilation is also worth buying because each Norwegian poem is translated into English.

I gather this poet lived his whole life in one place. On a farm, he lived the life of a farmer and a reader and a poet; from this life, these perfect poems emerged. I find it inspiring. We think we have to see the world, visit museums, take workshops and classes, get an MFA, connect and network -- truth is all we have to do is live life quietly, create because it's what humans feel compelled to do, pay attention to our thoughts, pay attention to the world, watch the light as it changes -- inside and out. This was recommended to me by Karl Ove Knausgaard.

This is the second of Olav Hauge's poem that I have purchased. He is a wonderful poet

Robert Bly did a great job translating. I don't read Norwegian but the poetry was very moving in English.

Lovely poems

Hauge writes about the mundane, but does so in ways that leave you revisiting the images in your mind long after you've read the poem.

These poems are small gems in the style of the Japanese and Chinese masters, written by a Norwegian farmer-poet with a clear eye, a musical ear, and deep feeling. This lovely bilingual edition (Norwegian/English) is fun even if you don't know more than how to pronounce the Norwegian since you can get a sense of the poet's careful use of sound that's always lost in translation. If I were to assemble a "catechism for writers", some of these poems would be right up front. Try this one:Don't come to me with the entire truth.Don't bring the ocean if I feel thirsty,nor heaven if I ask for light;but bring a hint, some dew, a particle,as birds carry drops away from a lake,and the wind a grain of salt.

beautifully written, seemingly simple language while actually the meaning is quite profound. would look forward to reading more work like this.

A lovely book. Nordic sensibility, tranquility. The paper is of high quality, too, so it is a pleasure to read.

I suspect Olav H. Hauge is little known outside Norwegian letters. He deserves a wider audience.He worked for most of his life as a farm worker, marrying late in life. Yet his poems show a wide knowledge of European literature, translating poets from French and English. Appropriately, one of these was Robert Bly, one of the translator's here, whose early spare poems, rooted in land often resemble Hauge's work.Most of Hauge's poems are short, written in simple direct language, which show a humane wisdom and touches of humour. Subject include smoke, fields, apples as well as ideas that have a universality about them combined with intimacy. Hauge seems to delight in them all. Reading these is like being in the presence of a wise friend. One gets the feeling that one would have enjoyed being with Hauge.Next to them are the original Norwegian verses. Yet the translations read well on their own. A poet who deserves a wider audience, one to turn to when seeking solace and wisdom.

The poems of Olav Hauge are truly wonderful. Thoughtful, clever, witty and accessible. I would recommend to anyone.

I was rather disappointed against my expectations. Few poems that really resonated with me. Thay may be my fault!