Customer Reviews

The Private Journals of Edvard Munch: We Are Flames Which Pour Out of the Earth

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the subtitle which is lines from one of Munch's poems indicates, the Norwegian painter could write poetry that was as vividly intense as many of his paintings, notably his signature painting "The Scream." "The sky was like/blood--sliced with strips of fire..." are lines from another poem of his. The format of all of the sections from Munch's journals edited by the poet and literary critic Holland are broken into lines as if the content was entirely poems. But it is not. Munch's varied entries are perceptive on local events and persons of the day, his relationships with others, self-examination and self-discovery, and psychological insights. "The nervous talk a lot. Craziness often expresses itself in incessant talking. Talking has become...a sort of defense against other people...When I am talking I tax anyone I am with, as if I've taken him prisoner," he writes in the entry titled "On Talking." A friend of the famous writers Ibsen and Knut Hamsen, Munch appreciated the power of words and the skill of writers. He obviously took care to write as precisely and truly as he could, even for his "private journals"; here published more extensively than ever with a faithful, empathetic translation and concise introduction. With these journals, one sees behind the revolutionary paintings to the mind of the extraordinary painter who could make them.

The Private Journals Of Edvard Munch: We Are Flames Which Pour Out Of The Earth is an anthology of writings by Scandinavia's most famous painter, Edvard Munch (1863-1944), perhaps best known for his classic capture of raw human terror in "The Scream". Excerpts taken from his diaries from the 1880s to the 1930s offer poetry that is bursting with the raw pathos of the human condition. Expertly translated by J. Gill Holland, these powerful verses are illustrated with Munch's original black-and-white sketches. Highly recommended for library collections, and an absolute must-read for anyone fascinated by Edvard Munch's life and brilliant work.

While reading poetry is not one of my favorite activities, I was drawn to this volume because of my continuing interest in Edvard Munch's paintings and the mind behind them. Therefore the material in the book that interested me most were the insights into the artist's character and his personal reports of some of his own life experiences. It's always useful to have the originator of a piece of art spell out exactly what was going through his mind at the moment he was in the act of creation. Although discussing his tendency to talk the ears off some of his intimates, he was at the same time often silent and preferred working alone. He complained of constantly having beautiful women distract him in his studio by arriving and then standing between him and what he was trying to paint while disrobing in order to steal his valuable work time merely to satisfy their own selfish lust. Most of us would not consider this a problem but more of a gift from heaven, but then we aren't Edvard Munch.
There are various types of prose and poetry included in this 200-page translation of selected sections from Munch's fifty years of journal keeping. Some of the material flows as easily as water running down a mountainside and navigating some of it is more like shooting the rapids in pitch darkness. Munch took his personal note keeping very seriously as the title of his journal indicates. "We Are Flames Which Pour Out Of The Earth" is not a title for something the author considered light reading. One-segment details witnessing a butcher slaughter an ox. That's not the kind of bedtime reading most people treasure.
In another segment Munch meets Ibsen at one of his exhibitions and explains what he was attempting with some of the paintings about which Ibsen is curious. This happened to be several paintings from his life frieze. Later, he notes that Ibsen uses the meeting and fictionalizes what was discussed in his "When We Dead Awaken."
There is something for everyone in this translation. Some of it seems almost as obscure and disturbing as the artist's paintings, but that's okay. The reader will finish the book with some new insights into the artist and his work. Fifteen of Munch's lesser known visual works are also pictured in the book including one of my favorite woodcuts with gouging, "Man's Head beneath Woman's Breast." Another of my personal favorites, "The Brooch, Eva Mudocci" is also reproduced. This is a must-read for anyone who is truly interested in the man who was Edvard Munch, but be prepared to work a little. This doesn't read as easily as Tolstoy, Margaret Mitchell or Stephen King.

Munch Journal talks about his tormented relationship with Frou L and his unique view of the world through the eyes of a painter and a poet. It's not exactly very autobiographical.