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wednesday.
I was downtown yesterday, because I had a therapy appointment and usually, when I have therapy I buy myself a treat afterwards as a reward for surviving, basically. Yesterday, I came early and therefore went to my favourite bookstore which is nearby and browsed their English section, as I often do (especially the poetry shelves) and I came across a little treasure that I absolutely had to own.
A publishing project called Novellix publishes small boxes of four stories in each, often thematically arranged and displaying a wide array of Danish and international writers. They're perfect gift size and the aesthetics are always very good. They're not too expensive either (170 kroner for four short stories isn't too bad) and generally really good quality from what I've seen. Well, in the English section, someone had stored away a box of theirs called "Danish Classics", four classic Danish short stories translated into English. H.C. Andersen, Henrik Pontoppidan, Karen Blixen and Herman Bang were the representatives here for all classic Danish literature and I got a bit irritated that they'd picked an Andersen fairy tale rather than representing another female writer, but whatever. Andersen sells, I know. I mostly bought the whole set for Herman Bang. I'm not a big fan as such of Impressionism in literature, too minimalist for my tastes, but Bang is in a category of his own. His portraits of women in his day and age are unrivalled and they had chosen to translate my absolute favourite of his stories, Irene Holm.
I know it probably isn't widely known outside Denmark, but in Denmark this is the story everyone reads and analyses in the ninth grade or something like that. Something that could easily make you hate a piece of literature, but I have carried Irene Holm close to my heart ever since I was 15 and read it the first time. Why? Well, reading this English translation, it dawns on me that Irene Holm is the queerest fucking story ever told. It could easily be interpreted as lesbian (though, naturally, I have never heard this brought up in school or by anyone else). Considering that Herman Bang was a known homosexual even in the late 19th century when he lived and it was against the law, I think there's a fair chance this is exactly his intention with it.
So, I reread it in English yesterday on my way home in the bus and I have never loved Irene Holm more than I do now. It's such an elegant, tragic and heartfelt little narrative. I want to write fanfiction about it, to be honest. It has all the elements I can't stay away from, tragic female fate, former ballerina, the Danish provinces...
So, while I will finish my Swan Lake project (of which I write more further down) for my girlfriend's birthday, I think I will write her an Irene Holm Christmas calendar in November. It's going to be my NaNoWriMo project this year. A fanfiction exploring her winter spent in the nearby town, the pastor's daughter coming by to visit because those two totally had an affair, I will fight you over this. I need some time to plot out the story itself, but it's going to be quiet and very Danish (but in English) and very, very lesbian.
Therapy yesterday was an absolute killer. Probably the most successful session we've had yet, I felt we did a very beautiful circular thing, starting in one place and ending in the same place, but with so much new insight and a release of some difficult emotions on the way. We talked bullying a lot, discussed anger and blame and forgiveness (which my therapist told me isn't required, why had I never considered that before??) and it was really, really draining. I had no brain (or heart, it felt like) left afterwards. I was very glad I'd bought myself some Herman Bang to soothe my sorrows on the way home.
And because I'm now trapped in the era, have some of my favourite Danish artwork by Hammershoi, late 19th-early 20th century. His use of the grey palette and the lighting is so exquisite and seeing his paintings when I go to Copenhagen and visit the museums there always puts me at ease. They feel like embraces. I love especially Danish painting from the period and any chance I can get to see it, I grab. Reminding me, I need to buy an all-season pass for our local art museum in Aarhus. They have some good stuff from this period, too.
Last time I went to Copenhagen, before the pandemic, I took this picture myself of my favourite of his paintings:
But I also really like this one:
And because this entry is apparently going to be Danish National League, I'm currently listening to Carl Nielsen and loving these piano compositions so much!
I found this footage of very early Bournonville style dancing and thought it was interesting.
* Found footage of Tina Højlund dancing this variation in 2005 in a pretty similar manner, though you can still see the evolution of the style somewhat.
However, do compare it to this variation (seen in two versions, one from 1986 where the style was also different from now and a version from 2014-ish) and you will immediately notice the differences, how it's gone through some changes and especially the speed has gone down...
I think it must be the incorporation of various other styles, like the RDB beginning to dance - on a much larger scale - the Russian classics and American works. Neumeier as well, but Neumeier is more in style with Bournonville in terms of aesthetic and the idea of drama and such...
For reasons that will become apparent in a moment, I was reminded a couple of days ago that I had a book lying around on the former version of Swan Lake that the RDB used to dance before the current Hübbe version, that is the Peter Martins version with sets by Per Kirkeby. It is a book that follows the process of staging this ballet the first time with some artsy photos and a lot of quotes and commentary from various people who were part of the project. I haven't read all of it, originally I only bought it for the photos and because it was about the Royal Danish Ballet.
I found it in an antique shop six-seven years ago. They were clearing everything out and selling books for 50 kroner or less, regardless of price before, so I went in in the vain hopes that maybe they had some vintage books on ballet. It was my lucky day! Apparently someone had recently given away their collection or someone had died, I guess, a pretty big chunk of ballet books ending up on the shelves of that antique shop just in time for me to stumble across them. I think I bought nine or ten books that day, all on ballet and most of them on Danish ballet which is rare because there aren't many books to begin with. The Swan Lake one is my favourite along with a book about La Sylphide written by the absolute guardian of Danish ballet history, Aschengren, called "Dangerous Sylphs". I've read that one multiple times and it is an amazing insight into the story behind La Sylphide as well as a historical introduction to the time and sentiment that made the foundation for that ballet and thus, most modern ballet today. I was lucky to find that book, because it's ancient and out of print.
Lastly, also about ballet, I've been working on a Swan Lake writing project for K's birthday and I got to a good start Monday, but got nothing written yesterday. It's a prose poetry-type thing again, a sort of Book of Proverb's prophetic work detailing things Odette has said to her swan maidens that they, after the end of the ballet, raise up to almost religious heights and collect in a book, represented by the fic I'm writing. I really like the idea of priestess/acolyte type relationships and I think Odette with her swan maidens really lend herself to that.
You get a small excerpt and then I will shut up about ballet for now, promise. The fic is called, Water-Born Wisdom.
CHAPTER THREE.
( one. ) Only humans who have not known the feeling of webbed feet would ask, why do waterfowl always gather in the shallow end of the pond? ( two. ) We, who have walked in single file and flown in wedge, accept the answer – it is because we can touch the bottom of the lake there and for a moment, we may imagine that our legs are lean and long, our toes separate, and that we will at last sink below the surface, were we to stop kicking.
( three. ) It is a double-edged sword, how the hollow bones and the plumage we wear like costume prevent us from drowning. We must be alive in order to fight for our freedom, while the very act of being alive ensures first and foremost that we remain caged inside ourselves.
( four. ) There is revolt to it, just as there is enforced submission. Wings for arms, feathers for skin. ( five. ) Swans do not flock together to feed on crumbs, nor do we flock together to stand the ground but rather, to stand the water.
( six. ) Therefore, stand your water, sisters. Stand your water, your Queen commands.
Finally, I wanted to ask my friends' list because a lot of you people like good literature... The Novellix box I mentioned up above holds four short stories in separate little books and I only need the Irene Holm one. They're very small and should be easy to ship, so if anyone would like a Danish classic short story in English, let me know. I'll present the options here. Please only pick one, I'd like as many as possible to get the chance of having one.
Don't worry about the shipping fees, I'll pay. As long as you are okay with it being sent in my own time, so it might take a while to get to you.
H. C. Andersen, LITTLE CLAUS AND BIG CLAUS
Poor Little Claus' only horse is beaten to death by his wealthier namesake, Big Claus. But with a little cunning, and trick by trick, Little Claus turns his dead horse into a fortune by exploiting the villagers' superstitious beliefs. In this Andersen classic, fortune favours the clever.
HENRIK PONTOPPIDAN, THE GRIM REAPER
After several years of hard labour, Simon and Ane are finally able to pay the last installment on their bank loan. It is supposed to be the time for the couple to relax a little more and perhaps have children. But Ane has a strange feeling: an illness is growing inside of her.
KAREN BLIXEN, THE PEARLS
During their honeymoon to Norway, Jensine makes several disheartening realisations about her husband, Alexander. Combined with the rumours of war spreading in the newspapers, Jensine begins to ponder what the future will bring. Her worries flow over: she accidentally snaps her pearl necklace, a family heirloom...
That's it. A very long entry from me today. If you've gotten all the way through this, you deserve a present, honestly.
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Thank you so much for the well-wishes. I need them, hahaha.
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