Kroppen med de dubbla pulsarna

Karneval och tomrum i Ann Jäderlunds diktsamling Snart går jag i sommaren ut

Abstract

The Body with a Double Pulse: Carnival and Emptiness in Ann Jäderlund’s Snart går jag i sommaren ut

This article offers a reading of Ann Jäderlund’s poetry volume Snart går jag i sommaren ut (1990). Jäderlund’s poetry is characterised by a fierce attack on all stable linguistic meaning, continuously undermining all budding metaphors and allegories. Instead, Jäderlund’s language floats forth in an ongoing, dynamic weave of words and images, to which, at first glance, it seems impossible to attribute any clear sense. The aim of this article is to shed new light on the logic of Jäderlund’s book by focusing on its metapoetic concerns. The article follows two main threads. Firstly, inspired by Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the carnival, it argues that much of Jäderlund’s imagery – for instance, of death, rebirth, masks, plants, and ridiculous transformations of things high and holy – may be read in terms of what Bakhtin refers to as the “carnivalistic” forces of literature. These images may thus be regarded as components of a general strategy intended to undermine the traditional use of language and concepts. Secondly, drawing on Julia Kristeva’s concept of the “chora”, this article analyses Jäderlund’s frequent use of words signifying empty spaces and hollow objects. Here, it is argued that these words indicate the empty semiotic dimension which both builds upon and withdraws from fixed linguistic meanings. The article argues that Jäderlund’s book constitutes a subtle but furious attack on language itself, a desperate attempt to undo what is ready-made and inauthentic in linguistic expressions, ultimately representing the hopeless dream of a freer, more feminine mode of speech.