"If you have a tiny farm, you need to love poetry more than the farm. If you sell apples, you need to love poetry more than the apples."-Robert Bly, from the introductionOlav H. Hauge, one of Norway's most beloved poets, is a major figure of twentieth-century European poetry. This generous bilingual edition-introduced by Robert Bly-includes the best poems from each of Hauge's seven books, as well as a gathering of his last poems.Ever sage and plainspoken-and bearing resemblance to Chinese poetry-Hauge's compact and classically restrained poems are rooted in his training as an orchardist, his deep reading in world literatures, and a lifetime of careful attention to the beauties and rigors of the western fjordland. His spare imagery and unpretentious tone ranges from bleak to unabashedly joyous, an intricate interplay between head and heart and hand."The rose has been sung about. I want to sing of the thorns, and the root-how it gripsthe rock hard, hardas a thin girl's hand."During a writing career that spanned nearly fifty years, Olav H. Hauge produced seven books of poetry, numerous translations, and several volumes of correspondence. A largely self-educated man, he earned his living as a farmer, orchardist, and gardener on a small plot in the fjord region of western Norway.