Media Coverage of the Jünger Book

The buzz around "Ernst Jünger -- A Portrait" continues.

Swedish weekly Nya Tider has payed attention to my Jünger book. No 48/2014 runs an item about it. It's only a short piece, however, all the facts are there. So I've taken the liberty to translate a few lines from it, for your information and reading pleasure.

For example it says:

Nya Tider has a writer named Lennart Svensson. He has contributed to the magazine since 2013, mostly by way of cultural items. Now he has broadened his record by writing a biography of the author Ernst Jünger. The book is called Ernst Jünger -- A Portrait and is published by Manticore Press.

On 290 pages Svensson tells about Jünger's life and his central books such as Heliopolis, the war diaries, Storm of Steel, On the Marble Cliffs and Eumeswil. Jünger's role as an outsider is also discussed as well as his spiritual sides. And his ideas about art, literature and history.

There's more but this is the gist of it.

As for Nya Tider, it's a rather promising independent newspaper, publishing stories and presenting views that MSM tends to be silent about. As concerns items like immigration, multiculturalism, the seedier side of foreign affairs, the corruption of MSM and established politicians. Nya Tider also covers books and films beside the mainstream and presents interviews with counter-culture figures like Jared Taylor. Also, there's sometimes articles on foreign policy by Manuel Ochsenreiter of the German monthly Zuerst!

Nya Tider began circulation by the late fall of 2012. Editor-in-chief is Vavra Suk.




Related
More on the Book
Everyday Songs With Religious Feeling
The Swedenborg Machine (short story)
The Middle Zone (short story)
The New Improved Sun (poem)

I Wanna Be Seen Green (poem)

It's November and it's alright. I only want to be here now. I don't long for Christmas. Pure existence in the Here and Now will do.

Hereby another poem, another work of my own. It's about the colour green, of verdure; I have a green period now, as it were. The poem is something of a borderline piece, bordering on the parodic as well as the fantastic. You choose where the emphasis lies.

I hit the sack in my four-poster bed
with a four-leaf clover under my head.

Then I trail off into lands unseen
with a clarkashtonesque, jewelry sheen...

There I dance with a heavenly sprite
on a flowery meadow lush, green and bright.

Starry-eyed I sail over ground
to a secret pool where I can’t be found.

I dive in the water, I’m finding a stone,
a crystalline object, an emerald throne.

I sit on the throne like a submarine king
and I’m falling asleep as the fish start to sing.

The next thing I know, I’m awake in my bed
with an emerald gem lying under my head.

The four-leaf clover has somehow been changed
into a precious stone – am I deranged...?

Or maybe it’s so, that what we see in our dreams
is more than we see, more than it seems...?

Related
The Poetry and Purple Prose of Clark Ashton Smith
Ascended Masters: Some Info
Swedish Mystique
Caza: The Ark
More Poems on This Blog

Pic Åke Ehrenberg

Rave Review of My Jünger Book

In Australia there was a magazine called Living Traditions. It isn't online anymore. It wrote about spirituality, history and culture. In 2014, it reviewed "Ernst Jünger -- A Portrait".

On the whole the unsigned review was positive towards my book. In fact, Living Traditions (= LT) seemed to have nothing negative to say about it.

For instance LT says this, about the life-story of Jünger you find at the beginning of the book:

Svensson’s biography (...) is precise and matter of fact, it avoids all the undue speculation and interpretation found in so many other biographies and offers a clear and accurate picture of Junger’s truly amazing life. He offers a detailed look at Junger’s role in WWI and WWII and his literary output.

LT summarizes various chapters of the book, LT in the process making these apt reflections:

The next chapters examines his [= Jünger's] other books such as his WWI volumes, here Junger has much in common with Julius Evola he does not just discuss war but the mindset required to be a devoted warrior. At the same time Junger produces more adventurous literature which is hard to place in a single genre, his books in this vein are enigmatic and thought provoking. On the Marble Cliffs is an example of this new style which can be read on multiple levels and needs reflection to be fully appreciated for the work of literature it is.

LT has more praise to give my book. Like this:

In chapters 20 and 21 Svensson goes way beyond a traditional biography and offers a substantial examination of German figures that influenced Junger and then offers an exceptional comparison of Junger with Yukio Mishima, Carlos Castenada and Julius Evola. In Chapter 26 after examining the role of religion in Junger’s work as well as reoccurring key esoteric themes Svensson looks at Junger the fantasy writer and compares him to others such as Tolkien. Svensson also considers other characteristics of Junger such as his surprising optimism, sense of play and poetic side.

And lastly the pay-off. LT seems to like "Ernst Jünger -- A Portrait", stating:

Svensson offers us a superb biography (...) Rather than get caught up in all the fruitless debate about Jünger in the 20’s he offers an honest yet nuanced approach which in my mind stands up rather well compared to academic biographies which spend their time in politically correct disputation. (...) Svensson has produced an amazing work which is not only approachable but perceptive. His analysis of obtuse aspects of Jünger’s work not found in other biographies makes this a must read by themselves. When you add the sheer comprehensiveness of the work this really is a biography of the very highest calibre.

That was that. More info about the book below.




Info About the Book on This Blog
Presentation on the Publisher's Site




Related
Info About the Book
Presentation on the Publisher's Site

Sword and Staff (poem)

Now for a poem of my hand. Everything on this blog is by me, and who "me" is you should have found out by this time.

It's time for a poem, a gnomic piece, a scholarly text in poetic form. If you're in for mysticism and metaphysical poetry, this might be for you.

An old wisdom tells us:
we need both the Sword of Reason
and the Wand of Intuition,
both The Pentacle of Valour
and The Cup of Sympathy.

Bring ’em all on your journey,
forgetting one and you’re lost.

Without the sword you’ll go mad.
Without the wand you can’t find the way.
Without the pentacle you’ll dare nothing
and without the cup you’ll lose your heart.

Thus a golden wisdom.
So sing this for memory:

”Sword and staff, cup and pentacle,
emerald, sapphire, topaze and ruby –
reason, intuition, courage, sympathy –
eeny, meeny, miny, mo”...

Related
Swedish Mystique
Caza: The Ark
Details (flash fiction)
PKD Stories I'm Critical Of

Book News: Ernst Jünger -- A Portrait (Svensson 2014)

My latest book is a biography about Ernst Jünger. The title is "Ernst Jünger -- A Portrait". The imprint is Manticore Press. As a Swede you can buy the book on Adlibris. Or, if you're in the USA, on Amazon.com -- or, in the UK, on Amazon.co.uk. -- Edit 24/11 2014: here's a review of the book, a summary of a text in Living Traditions Magazine. Among other things the review says this about my book: "[A] biography of the very highest calibre." -- [A Swedish version of this presentation can be found here.]

For about 30 years I've read the books of Ernst Jünger. He was a German author living 1895-1998, a true legend having participated in both world wars as well as being a nationalist, a collector of beetles and butterflies, a world traveller and an informal teacher on esotericism.

Suddenly, having read most of Jünger's books and some bios, I realized that I could write a bio of my own. My goal was to create a Jünger bio without Politically Correct bias, a hands-on, affirmative and inspirational portrait of the greatest German author since Goethe.

My book goes into it all: Jüngers eventful life per se, his books on war, the controversial politics, the philosophical and life-affirming sides and then some. The number of pages is 288 and the book layout is smashing. See for yourself in the pictures of this entry.

An example of the style is this, from the chapter about the novel "On the Marble Cliffs" (1939):

”On the Marble Cliffs” displays a rich collection of characters. We have [for example] prince Sunmyra, pale and frail yet strong and belligerent, a romantic dreamer aroused from his sleep and ready to act against darkness, mirroring in a way the statue of the Bamberg Horseman (der Bamberger Reiter) in Bamberg cathedral: a heroic medieval knight, seemingly distraught but essentially a true rock of resistance. Mythologically he is in my book juxtaposed by the knight depicted by Dürer in his 16th century engraving ”The Knight, Death and the Devil”, a no-nonsense fighter with a literal devil-may-care attitude, a man of a hard mindset and yet no mere barbarian. And this character could be said to be represented by another ”Marble Cliff” figure: Biedenhorn, the commander of the mercenaries. The brothers at the centre of action get some help from him at the end, and before that he is lovingly depicted as the timeless solider, without higher ideals but reliable when it comes to battle and a jovial friend to his brothers in arms.

The book is already selling and I've received praise for it from readers.

Buy it on Adlibris.

Buy it on Amazon.com

Buy it Amazon.co.uk.

Related
Review of "Ernst Jünger -- A Portrait"
Svensson: biography
Presentation on the Publisher's Site

Nordic Sphinx (poem)

Here's a poem by me, Svensson. It's about "northernness", a term coined by C. S. Lewis. And about "archeofuturism", a term coined by Guillaume Faye.

I’m a Nordic Sphinx,
looking out over the boundless hills,
seeing a bright future

for all and sundry – a future perfect,
an archaic future, a future in
purple and gold, silver and green.

The pine is ever green,
the sun casting its gold
on the mountain side,

the moon etching its silver runes
and the purple twilight –
the colours of a new era.

- - -

I’m the king of comedy,
a metal guru and an
implicit whiteness.

I’m a prophet, a poet,
a preacher, a piper,
a guru, a sphinx,

an attic fanatic and a forest creature,
an aristocrat of the soul
in a time of decay.

- - -

I’m a poet and a piper,
a prophet of Northernness
singing for the trees,

singing for the people,
singing for fun in an age
where no one seems to

be laughing any more, no one
smiles, no one feels the joy of anything.
There I come with my flute

throwing green melodies over
everyone, saying ”life can be
fun too, you know”.

- - -

The prophet has spoken,
the guru is gone, the
Northern Spinx has left

the building, left us for
the boundless hills, the
thousand-mile forest,

the moors and the swamps,
the grey-green expanses of
coniferous woods

holding a future for us all,
an old future, an archaic future:
archeo future, a future perfect.




Related
Swedish Mystique