Swedish Poetry anthology gets a fresh update amid canon debates

The autumn literary season kicks off with a revised edition of "Svensk poesi" (Swedish Poetry), a significant anthology that now includes around twenty new contemporary poets. The updated collection, edited by Daniel Möller and Niklas Schiöler, also features an increased number of women and Finland-Swedish poets, with the editors noting that one in six poets hail from "the other side of the Bothnian Sea."

This new edition arrives in the wake of national discussions surrounding a Swedish cultural canon. The anthology's title, "Svensk poesi," is notably more neutral than the 2007 selection titled "De bästa svenska dikterna" (The Best Swedish Poems). While acknowledging the importance of such anthologies in shaping the canon, the author emphasizes that they represent only a small fraction of the broader literary tradition.

“

With literature, it is as with people – as long as someone remembers our names, we exist. We die for real when no one remembers anymore.

The piece also touches upon the enduring nature of literature, drawing a parallel to human existence: literature, like people, continues to exist as long as it is remembered. The author suggests that every act of reading and engagement with literature contributes to its ongoing canonization. With primary schools now tasked with teaching new generations to read, there is hope for a continued vibrant literary scene.

“

So all who read literature or in any way engage with it, create canon. Every day.