Pia Tafdrup was born in 1952 in Copenhagen. She has published over 20 books in Danish since her first collection appeared in 1981, and her work has been translated into many languages. Her fourth collection, Spring Tide, was published in English by Forest in 1989. In 1991 she published a celebrated statement of her poetics, Walking Over Water. She received the 1999 Nordic Council Literature Prize – Scandinavia’s most prestigious literary award – for Queen's Gate, which was published in David McDuff’s English translation by Bloodaxe in 2001. Also in 2001, she was appointed a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog, and in 2006 she received the Nordic Prize from the Swedish Academy. Most of Pia Tafdrup's poetry collections have been linked by themes, including The Salamander Quartet (2002–2012). Written over ten years, its first two parts were The Whales in Paris and Tarkovsky’s Horses, translated by David McDuff and published by Bloodaxe in 2010 as Tarkovsky’s Horses and other poems. This was followed in 2015 by Salamander Sun and other poems, McDuff’s translation of The Migrant Bird’s Compass and Salamander Sun, the third and fourth parts of the quartet. The first two collections in Pia Tafdrup’s new series of books focussing on the human senses are The Taste of Steel and The Smell of Snow, which Bloodaxe published as one volume in David McDuff's translation in 2021.

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• THE TASTE OF STEELI No return15 Stages on life’s way16 In eternal pursuit17 Unposted letter19 Winter blood20 Not even in museums is there peaceII Meditation23 Stopping at the sight of swans24 Plenty of time25 Taste27 Undercurrent28 LonelinessIII Off track30 Earring31 After frost-white shell of cold32 Japanese cherries33 Night country34 Metal36 Bodies without root nets37 DownIV Crossroads40 Power cut42 Pont Neuf44 Daily choice45 The pets and their people46 Time and spaceV War49 The darkness machine50 Razed city51 The journalist’s question52 The spring’s grave53 A before and an after54 View from spaceVI Waiting57 Chink58 A squirrel bids welcome59 Despair drinks fire60 Life with pigeons62 FrogVII Loss65 The anonymous part of the churchyard66 Each in our own flame67 Porous border70 A display case filled with night72 On the other side73 Greeting from the deceased74 Snow flowers76 Residue78 ThresholdVIII Words80 Crime scene81 Mother tongue82 Word and soul83 Searchlight84 Johan Borgen – a ritual86 PoetsIX Paradox89 Harvest90 Separation91 The taste buds wake up92 We are born again93 Animal smell of light94 Killer whales96 Early morningTHE SMELL OF SNOWI Breathe in, breathe out101 Spirit102 Prana103 Fresh snow105 Under cirrus clouds107 Your fragrance wakes me109 Freezing fog110 Lovesick birdII Antitheses112 Noses, a comparative study114 Seduced by Gregory Pincus115 Not a gift116 Tags in the night118 Cleaning poisons120 Them or us121 Digital odoursIII Meditation125 Spring inhalation126 Exchange of smells127 Danish cat meets Australian stone128 Smell of tomatoes129 Smell-trace of a morning131 Camellia japonica132 Benchmarks from a long dayIV Bloodstreams137 Wrong number138 Under the asphalt the Milky Way139 Garlic140 Nose to the ground141 The cream from ChinaV The five seasons. A catalogue of smells145 Spring147 Summer149 Autumn151 Winter153 The fifth seasonVI Flashes of thought157 Caught in the act158 Smell blind159 The meaning of meaninglessness160 After showers of bullets in paradise162 Words without smellVII Vanishing164 The smell can be parted from the body165 Reflection on snow and ice167 Intense lethargy168 Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt169 The end of icebergsVIII Inner world, outer world172 The smell greets me173 Memory bank for smells174 Insect wing175 Nausea – a flashback177 Stink179 Flower shop180 The primordial brainIX One breath makes the difference182 Attack in Copenhagen183 Welcome, people live here184 I want to be a tree185 Twelve breaths186 The smell of books188 There has been prismatic rain189 The stream of smells from below191 Notes

Pia Tafdrup was born in 1952 in Copenhagen. She has published over 20 books in Danish since her first collection appeared in 1981, and her work has been translated into many languages. Her fourth collection, Spring Tide, was published in English by Forest in 1989. In 1991 she published a celebrated statement of her poetics, Walking Over Water. She received the 1999 Nordic Council Literature Prize – Scandinavia’s most prestigious literary award – for Queen's Gate, which was published in David McDuff’s English translation by Bloodaxe in 2001. Also in 2001, she was appointed a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog, and in 2006 she received the Nordic Prize from the Swedish Academy. Most of Pia Tafdrup's poetry collections have been linked by themes, including The Salamander Quartet (2002–2012). Written over ten years, its first two parts were The Whales in Paris and Tarkovsky’s Horses, translated by David McDuff and published by Bloodaxe in 2010 as Tarkovsky’s Horses and other poems. This was followed in 2015 by Salamander Sun and other poems, McDuff’s translation of The Migrant Bird’s Compass and Salamander Sun, the third and fourth parts of the quartet. The first two collections in Pia Tafdrup’s new series of books focussing on the human senses are The Taste of Steel and The Smell of Snow, which Bloodaxe published as one volume in David McDuff's translation in 2021.

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• THE TASTE OF STEELI No return15 Stages on life’s way16 In eternal pursuit17 Unposted letter19 Winter blood20 Not even in museums is there peaceII Meditation23 Stopping at the sight of swans24 Plenty of time25 Taste27 Undercurrent28 LonelinessIII Off track30 Earring31 After frost-white shell of cold32 Japanese cherries33 Night country34 Metal36 Bodies without root nets37 DownIV Crossroads40 Power cut42 Pont Neuf44 Daily choice45 The pets and their people46 Time and spaceV War49 The darkness machine50 Razed city51 The journalist’s question52 The spring’s grave53 A before and an after54 View from spaceVI Waiting57 Chink58 A squirrel bids welcome59 Despair drinks fire60 Life with pigeons62 FrogVII Loss65 The anonymous part of the churchyard66 Each in our own flame67 Porous border70 A display case filled with night72 On the other side73 Greeting from the deceased74 Snow flowers76 Residue78 ThresholdVIII Words80 Crime scene81 Mother tongue82 Word and soul83 Searchlight84 Johan Borgen – a ritual86 PoetsIX Paradox89 Harvest90 Separation91 The taste buds wake up92 We are born again93 Animal smell of light94 Killer whales96 Early morningTHE SMELL OF SNOWI Breathe in, breathe out101 Spirit102 Prana103 Fresh snow105 Under cirrus clouds107 Your fragrance wakes me109 Freezing fog110 Lovesick birdII Antitheses112 Noses, a comparative study114 Seduced by Gregory Pincus115 Not a gift116 Tags in the night118 Cleaning poisons120 Them or us121 Digital odoursIII Meditation125 Spring inhalation126 Exchange of smells127 Danish cat meets Australian stone128 Smell of tomatoes129 Smell-trace of a morning131 Camellia japonica132 Benchmarks from a long dayIV Bloodstreams137 Wrong number138 Under the asphalt the Milky Way139 Garlic140 Nose to the ground141 The cream from ChinaV The five seasons. A catalogue of smells145 Spring147 Summer149 Autumn151 Winter153 The fifth seasonVI Flashes of thought157 Caught in the act158 Smell blind159 The meaning of meaninglessness160 After showers of bullets in paradise162 Words without smellVII Vanishing164 The smell can be parted from the body165 Reflection on snow and ice167 Intense lethargy168 Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt169 The end of icebergsVIII Inner world, outer world172 The smell greets me173 Memory bank for smells174 Insect wing175 Nausea – a flashback177 Stink179 Flower shop180 The primordial brainIX One breath makes the difference182 Attack in Copenhagen183 Welcome, people live here184 I want to be a tree185 Twelve breaths186 The smell of books188 There has been prismatic rain189 The stream of smells from below191 Notes

Pia Tafdrup was born in 1952 in Copenhagen. She has published over 20 books in Danish since her first collection appeared in 1981, and her work has been translated into many languages. Her fourth collection, Spring Tide, was published in English by Forest in 1989. In 1991 she published a celebrated statement of her poetics, Walking Over Water. She received the 1999 Nordic Council Literature Prize – Scandinavia’s most prestigious literary award – for Queen's Gate, which was published in David McDuff’s English translation by Bloodaxe in 2001. Also in 2001, she was appointed a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog, and in 2006 she received the Nordic Prize from the Swedish Academy. Most of Pia Tafdrup's poetry collections have been linked by themes, including The Salamander Quartet (2002–2012). Written over ten years, its first two parts were The Whales in Paris and Tarkovsky’s Horses, translated by David McDuff and published by Bloodaxe in 2010 as Tarkovsky’s Horses and other poems. This was followed in 2015 by Salamander Sun and other poems, McDuff’s translation of The Migrant Bird’s Compass and Salamander Sun, the third and fourth parts of the quartet. The first two collections in Pia Tafdrup’s new series of books focussing on the human senses are The Taste of Steel and The Smell of Snow, which Bloodaxe published as one volume in David McDuff's translation in 2021.

Select Guide Rating

• THE TASTE OF STEELI No return15 Stages on life’s way16 In eternal pursuit17 Unposted letter19 Winter blood20 Not even in museums is there peaceII Meditation23 Stopping at the sight of swans24 Plenty of time25 Taste27 Undercurrent28 LonelinessIII Off track30 Earring31 After frost-white shell of cold32 Japanese cherries33 Night country34 Metal36 Bodies without root nets37 DownIV Crossroads40 Power cut42 Pont Neuf44 Daily choice45 The pets and their people46 Time and spaceV War49 The darkness machine50 Razed city51 The journalist’s question52 The spring’s grave53 A before and an after54 View from spaceVI Waiting57 Chink58 A squirrel bids welcome59 Despair drinks fire60 Life with pigeons62 FrogVII Loss65 The anonymous part of the churchyard66 Each in our own flame67 Porous border70 A display case filled with night72 On the other side73 Greeting from the deceased74 Snow flowers76 Residue78 ThresholdVIII Words80 Crime scene81 Mother tongue82 Word and soul83 Searchlight84 Johan Borgen – a ritual86 PoetsIX Paradox89 Harvest90 Separation91 The taste buds wake up92 We are born again93 Animal smell of light94 Killer whales96 Early morningTHE SMELL OF SNOWI Breathe in, breathe out101 Spirit102 Prana103 Fresh snow105 Under cirrus clouds107 Your fragrance wakes me109 Freezing fog110 Lovesick birdII Antitheses112 Noses, a comparative study114 Seduced by Gregory Pincus115 Not a gift116 Tags in the night118 Cleaning poisons120 Them or us121 Digital odoursIII Meditation125 Spring inhalation126 Exchange of smells127 Danish cat meets Australian stone128 Smell of tomatoes129 Smell-trace of a morning131 Camellia japonica132 Benchmarks from a long dayIV Bloodstreams137 Wrong number138 Under the asphalt the Milky Way139 Garlic140 Nose to the ground141 The cream from ChinaV The five seasons. A catalogue of smells145 Spring147 Summer149 Autumn151 Winter153 The fifth seasonVI Flashes of thought157 Caught in the act158 Smell blind159 The meaning of meaninglessness160 After showers of bullets in paradise162 Words without smellVII Vanishing164 The smell can be parted from the body165 Reflection on snow and ice167 Intense lethargy168 Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt169 The end of icebergsVIII Inner world, outer world172 The smell greets me173 Memory bank for smells174 Insect wing175 Nausea – a flashback177 Stink179 Flower shop180 The primordial brainIX One breath makes the difference182 Attack in Copenhagen183 Welcome, people live here184 I want to be a tree185 Twelve breaths186 The smell of books188 There has been prismatic rain189 The stream of smells from below191 Notes