If I Were a Suicide Bomber

"Smart, impish, and spare, Per Aage Brandt finds the physical in the metaphysical, and the fizz in the physiological."—Joanna Trzeciak

A cognitive scientist by trade, Per Aage Brandt's poems resemble little puzzle boxes—all quite short with lines of almost identical length. But within this seemingly rigid structure, he explores a vast range of topics, from death and communication to catastrophes, economics, intimacy, dreams, and cats. At once philosophical and playful, these poems stimulate the mind and are also disarmingly human.

if I were a suicide bomber, by profession,

so to speak, I would choose a deserted

place, climb up on a big boulder, focus

my mind intensely on the world's most

insane, stupid, malodorous, and in every

respect repulsive ideas, evoke and display

them, scrutinize their features very precisely

before my inner eye and ear, and then,

when all finally was totally clear,

I would activate the detonator in my belt

(goodbye, ideas)

In addition to his poetry, Per Aage Brandt has published a large number of books on the subjects of semiotics, linguistics, culture, and music. He has also translated Molière and the Marquis de Sade, among others, and has had some of his translations set to music in Frederik Magle's Cantabile.

Thom Satterlee received his MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Arkansas, and has published two previous collections of Danish poetry in translation. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and PEN America, and won the Translation Prize from the American-Scandinavian Foundation.