PRESENTATION-COPY OF DITLEVSEN'S DEBUT PUBLICATION
DITLEVSEN, TOVE.
Pigesind.
København, Rasmus Naver, 1939.
Uncut in the original printed wrappers illustrated by Arne Ungermann. With Ditlevsen's presentation inscription to Danish author Tom Smidth to front free end paper: "Til Tom Smith / paa Bryllupsdagen (min) / Venligst fra / Tove Ditlesen / 29/3-40" (i.e. English: "For Tom Smith / On the weddingday (mine) / Kindest / Tove Ditlevsen 29/3-40"). Light wear to extremities, boarders of boards slightly browned and spine-ends chipped, otherwise a very nice and clean copy. 63 pp.
The rare first edition, here with a most interesting presentation-inscription to her publisher, of Ditlevsen’s seminal debut publication. Allegedly, she only gave away ten presentation copies of her debut publication, making them of the utmost scarcity. Tom Smidth (1887 - 1942) was a Danish author and poet. Ditlevsen gave him the present copy just two year before he passed away and in 1944 she wrote in the Danish newpaper Politiken a most loving review of Smidth's famous "Vild-Hvede" Ditlevsen is considered one of the most important and unique voices in twentieth-century Danish literature and many of the themes she touches upon ring a universal bell. Her works are particularly valuable as they dramatize the consequences of locking women into marriage, into the roles of wife and mother. In 2021, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Guardian elected Tove Ditlevesen's recently translated "The Copenhagen Trilogy” as book of the year and celebrated Ditlevsen as one of the most important authors in 20th century literature.
The collection consists in 32 poems that range widely from the broodingly sad, over deeply unhappy to the almost cheerful. They represent the mind of a young girl and what goes on in it, a young girl whose life was to be marked by anxiety, drug addiction, and repeated suicide attempts.
Ditlevsen's writing has had a lasting impact upon Danish literature, and her works continue to be read and studied for their candid and emotional exploration of the human condition. Her life and writing remain highly important subject matters for those interested in Scandinavian literature and the confessional literary tradition.
Order-nr.: 62094
DKK 12.000,00