LIFE OF A POET - BJORN RUDBERG

We have a real treat this week, kids, as we are going to visit Bjorn Rudberg, of  Bjorn Rudberg's Writings, in Sweden!!!!! (Be still, my heart! Mountains! Snow! Beautiful wilderness!) Bjorn is active in the blogosphere, so you likely know him from dVerse or Poets United. His emergence as a poet began on Twitter! And we get to benefit from his crossover to the world of online blogging. We need a hot drink, I think, for this interview, as there are some chilly snowy peaks on all sides. And such beauty as will amaze the eye!

Sherry: Bjorn, so happy to be meeting with you.  I know this is going to be interesting. Will you tell us a little about yourself, where you live, and with whom you share your life?

Bjorn: I live outside Stockholm, in a house with a wild garden where we have plenty of trees, and no lawns. My wife is a physicist like me and we met already at university. We have no kids but often act as extra parents for friend's kids (especially teenagers seem to think we are cooler than their parents)

Our garden in spring

Sherry: Such a beautiful garden - I like gardens natural, like yours. I read that you studied as a physicist, then switched careers. Would you like to tell us anything about that?  

Bjorn: Basically I took my PhD in physics and then switched to the more practical and application part of the world, and gradually I moved more into business development. I still use part of what I learned every day, but I combine it with economy and strategy.

Sherry: I am wondering, is there a way in which the worlds of physics and poetry, which seem so dissimilar, connect for you?

Bjorn: Physics is about understanding the world. To understand the details in how things fit together. It's also about a specific language and talking in code and abbreviations, to some extent. I think poetry is about explaining, and making things clear by the use of metaphors and other tools. It actually has a lot of similarity in how to explain physics to a non-physicist.

Canopies of our garden

Sherry: Ah, I can see some similarity! Tell us how you came to the world of poetry.

Bjorn: My poetic career started with twitter. I was at a technology conference and opened up a twitter account. Actually the first piece of poetry I read was the resigning CEO of Sun Microsystems who did it in the form of a haiku. So I started to follow various poetry prompts, and got into word games. You get a word and tweet something funny or poetic on that word. Twitter works for haiku, tanka and other short poetry, and I still write shorter poems more or less every day (@brudberg).

I connected with some twitter friends and we started to write collaborative poems (we still do that). I originally started the blog to collect these longer poems. 

Then through twitter friends that also had blogs I saw different fiction and poetry prompts.

Sherry: How do you think  blogging has impacted your growth as a poet?

Bjorn: Living in Sweden, there is no natural poetry scene for poetry in English, so without blogging and the different communities out here, I would never have even begun, and all growth would have been impossible. 

Sarek Mountain

Sherry: Tell us, what do you love about poetry?

Bjorn: There are two aspects that I'm attracted to. First, it's the musical qualities of a text; the poetic toolbox allows me to write texts that enhance and attract the reader. I always try  to read them loud, and I have recently started to add sound files with my readings. There is much to learn there, and since I never managed any  instruments but still love music, I see poetry as a musical expression.

The second aspect is its content. To create surprise, or emotions in a brief format. Sometimes if I get upset about something in the news, I can add a political dimension to my poetry, though I prefer to be a voice of reason, than to confront others with my words.

Sherry: You write most often in form poetry. What is the appeal of form over free verse, for you?

Bjorn: I think I have moved into more free verse gradually. To me a free verse is not free of form; it's just that you have to invent the form as well as the content. Form is one way to exercise my poetic muscles. In some way, it also helps me with an element of randomness. A rhyme might, for instance, steer the poem in an unexpected direction that was not my original intention. It has struck me that  a sonnet in this way also  has an element of found poetry.

She Keeps Her Roses in a Treasure Chest

She seeks the roses of a faded youth

and saves them deep inside her treasure chest

its wheels could play a madrigal of truth

but all she hears is sunshine when it’s best

Her eyes are diamonds in a faded sky
she’s barefoot hopscotching on wet concrete
and has forgotten all that’s when or why
she smells the orchards of a car’s back seat

Her tousled hair recalls the ponytail
with ribbons tied by mother’s forceful hands
she smells the honey in a bread’s gone stale
but she’s forgotten all her actress plans.

The shopping cart she’s pushing to her home

among the dumpsters she will find her tomb

Sherry: Such a powerful and poignant portrait you have painted here.  It astounds me that you write so skillfully in English, when it is your second language. Do you write in Swedish as well?

Bjorn: I have never written poetry in Swedish, but have recently started to think about writing also in my mother tongue.  To a large extent it has to do with the fact that the communities where I'm active would not appreciate it. I also think that I would have to rethink some of my poetic thinking, to be able to put my thoughts on paper.

Sherry:  Some poets post their poem in English, with the translation into their mother tongue underneath. I find it lends an intriguing quality -an extra dimension- to their work. 

Tell us about your skiing and trekking in the northern mountains. So cool! Have you always had this call to wild places? 

Mountain in summer

Bjorn: My father was a professor of geography, which meant that he worked outdoors, exploring for his research, all the time. Me and my sister were always forced to come along. It was a curse and a blessing, but when I met my wife I was not scared to follow her on treks into the northern mountains. We have also kayaks, so as long as it's free from ice, we can get out in the archipelago right where we live. So in a sense I have always lived in ways so as much time as possible should be spent outdoors.

Mountain in winter

Me and my wife spend almost all our vacation time in outdoor activity. It's good for the health and you feel the change of season much better.

Fragrant Song - a triolet

I seek a place in time and space
where flowers sing their fragrant song
I seek a place with slower pace
I seek a place in time and space
I’m yearning for a soft embrace
where summer feelings linger long
I seek a place in time and space
where flowers sing their fragrant song

Sherry: That is so beautiful! Loving the wilderness, what are your thoughts on environmental degradation?  Do you have hope we can slow this down?  Do you see any effects of global warming in your northern mountains?

Bjorn: I would say my hopes are not high. I have actually seen things getting better if we act: the air is cleaner, there is less poison in the lakes. But the over-consumption of resources is what always concerns me most. It's much more about life-style and perceptions, and that takes time to change. 

Are we willing to live in smaller houses, drive less, eat less meat, etcetera. All those are choices that we have to do as individuals. I'm not the best person always, but at least I get a bad feeling over my own over-indulgence. When you spend your time in a tent, you realize how little you really need. When a bunk-bed indoors becomes luxury. I think more people need to do this type of reflection.

Mountain camping

Sherry: You are so right, my friend. We need a global shift in individual consciousness. You are surrounded by the most beautiful landscape! May it be preserved, always.

You describe yourself as a poetry novice, though you are so talented, we beg to differ. What advice would you give other beginning poets?

Bjorn: For me, the following works:

1. Read and comment on other works much more than you write. Online communities are good in the sense that they make a dialogue possible.

2. Make use of all the writing prompts, find your favourites and interact.

3. Read your poems aloud – that's how it's meant to be. If you dare, record and listen.

4, Think color contrasts and don't be scared to try new words – use online dictionaries and the internet for research and inspiration.

5 Have Fun

Sherry: Good advice! Is there anything else you’d like to say to Poets United?

Bjorn: I have met very few of the poets in real life, but I think I know many of you better than acquaintances I meet every day. I think meeting in real life would be great, and send me a line if you would happen to be in Stockholm.

Sherry: I often think the same thing: my online friends know me better than many of my real life people. Thanks, Bjorn, for this wonderful visit and a glimpse of your life in beautiful Sweden. Enjoy your wonderful outdoor adventures! Store them up. I know, now, how important it is to have a well-stocked memory larder for one's later years!

Sigh. Wasn't that wonderful, my friends? The beauty of Bjorn's surroundings is breathtaking. And he enjoys it to the max. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!