Modus Vivendi

Gunnar Ekelof (1907-1968), poet and essayist, is widely regarded as one of the most original Scandinavian writers of the 20th century. Subtle and penetrative as his mature thought undoubtedly is, and shot through with cryptic allusions and esoteric overtones, he was nevertheless always concerned to try to temper his erudition in ways which would achieve a strong simplicity and directness of meaning. Taking his point of departure in his early years from the ideas and the aspirations of the French symbolists, yet subsequently finding much to admire in the poetry of T.S. Eliot, he then in his more mature years set himself the objective of fashioning a more deliberately unadorned style. In the volume of selected essays, Ekelof's ideas are now made accessible to an English-speaking readership. Giving a representative overview of Ekelof's philosophy of life, it bears witness to his status as a thinker and writer of international significance, and makes a critical contribution to the present-day understanding of this Scandinavian writer.