Det vilde kor

the long version

Translated for the first time into English, The Wild Chorus (Det vilde Kor) was the only book of poetry published by Knut Hamsun (1859-1952). Its publication in 1904 came in the turbulent decade following the success of his novels Hunger and Mysteries. Hounded across Europe by a female stalker, unhappily married and later divorced, drinking heavily and bankrupted by his gambling, Hamsun returned to his childhood home at Hamarøy in the far north of Norway. There he lived alone in a turf hut and composed many of the poems in this collection, inspired by the arctic summer, the forests, mountains and fjords. The book resulted in a revival of lyric poetry in Norway, with these poems to this day continuing to be read and admired. More at www.humansidepress.com