We are happy to announce that Le Castor Astral Editeur has acquired the French rights to Miki Liukkonen‘s collection of poetry ELISABET for publication in a bilingual Finnish and French edition in autumn 2022. Elisabet will be translated by Sébastian Cagnoli, who has previoiusly translated Liukkonen’s magnificent novel O into French.
“The collection of poetry Elisabet (2012) is as brief as the novel O (2017) is voluminous: we see here the two extremes of Miki Liukkonen’s work, two complementary sides, two representations of the same universe. In Elisabet, the author already reveals his taste for historical references, enumeration, name-dropping, the staging of the iconic artist… and above all for the most unpredictable associations of images and ideas. At the heart of this unbridled youthful adventure, the motif of mourning and the way the author approaches it adds a poignant depth. In short, it is an eclectic and touching collection where the poet does not hesitate to lay himself bare, under the pretext of stylistic experimentation and self-mockery, in order to access the elusive forces that govern our lives, our thoughts and our emotions.” – Sébastien Cagnoli, Translator