Michael Strunge was one of Denmark’s acclaimed post modern poets, even winning awards. Influenced by the post punk movement, he channelled his love for music in his poetry. He also suffered from bipolar disorder and during one of his episodes jumped out of a window in 1986. He did not survive.
One would assume that Strunge’s poems are depressing but it’s actually quite the opposite. The ones in this collection are vibrant, full of raw energy(Farther) and contain a lot of open declarations of love (Absence, Letter but definitely For F.P, Jac is probably the most bold one) . Now and then little tinges of sarcasm and dourness have a way of sneaking through (Decay).
I see Michael Strunge as a chronicler of his generation. This is a person who is observing contemporary Danish life and sometimes feels angry about but also tends to accept it as well. There is definitely a punk vibe running through these poems but the aim is not to destroy, but to make the reader aware.
Speed of Life’s publisher, Nordisk Books, a relatively small press dedicated to getting Scandinavian literature to the wider public, have done an excellent job with the book. One side is in Danish, while the English translation is on the other page. Apparently Michael Strunge has a sizeable amount of poetry so I’m hoping that more will be published by Nordisk in the future.
Many thanks to Nordisk Books for providing a copy of Speed of Life
The Bobsphere 
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