Tomas Tranströmer - Schubertiana

His English is good too!

The Poet

A really nice photo of Tranströmer!

Nice pen pal

You think my English is good? Dame Judi thought so too!

Wise man

He was one of the persons in Jan Troell´s film "Sagolandet." (The Fairytale country.) I photographed this from my TV set! "In such a society everyone would think their own thoughts."

Nice letter

Every now and then someone comes along who SEES one. (I never met this man. But I have read all of his books.)

The social joke

Since when could social worker lead and manage psychiatry? Since never! (in case my readers shouldn´t know: it´s the job of psychiatrists. Medical doctors and psychologists. Get it??)

Invisible

So what´s the problem? The problem is my cure hasn´t been acknowleged by the Swedish society. People don´t want to know! (also they think I have a heavy diagnosis. Which is the reason I´m stuck in this nightmarish municipality "psychiatry". Bossed around by social workers. Who know nothing at all.)

Cured

I DID get cured from my anxiety attacks. (and agoraphobia.) In Stockholm in 2002. And psychiatry acknowledged this! (this is from my psychiatric file.) (click on all images for larger versions.)

Fine psychiatrist

This very nice psychiatrist (who was later to become famous) also fixed it so that I could get my first therapy for free. Paid by the state! (this is his letter of encouragement. Where he wishes me luck with my therapy and with my life and future.)

Stigmatized

I have to mention my own case. This was my diagnosis. Put by my psychiatric hospital. It´s Latin for anxiety neurosis. (they don´t use the term "neurosis" anymore. It has become out of fashion.) I had a lot of anxiety! (not the first one. Or the only one. Anxiety is part of the human lot. Only machines and God do not have it.)

Me

I´m kind of more cheerful than Lisbeth! (plus nearly 6 feet tall and weigh about 160 pounds.)

Lisbeth´s neighbour

Stieg Larsson let Lisbeth live in the house next to mine! (postcard from Tomas Tranströmer.)

Lisbeth Salander

Lisbeth Salander triumphed. (was listened to.) But I didn´t! (not yet.)

Man måste leva på hoppet

His daughter Ann-Marie (my mum) was one of the founders of the Green Party (Miljöpartiet) in Sweden! (photographed by me in 1968.) (click to see a larger version.)

Against dictatorship

P O had already published (in 1936) the book "Parliamentarism in Europe" (in Swedish.) Which was also a pamphlet against all nazism and fascism! (he didn´t like communism either.)

Defender 2

And so would my grandfather P O von Törne, professor of history at the Åbo (Turkku) Academy. My great role model when it comes to historic research! (died in 1940. Didn´t live to see the peace.)

A difficult peace

En svår fred 1944 | Arkivet | svenska.yle.fi
My grandmother´s brother Ernst von Born (judge and minister of justice) would have defended me! (click on the link.) He led the peace negotiations with the USSR in Sept of 1944. Here is his radio speech afterwards!

Human being

Are mental patients human beings? To judge by the way we are treated this is not the view. We are the exception. Even from the UN declaration of Human Rights!
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
"All human beings". How do you interpret that? Is "all" 100%? Or just 99%? Does it mean "everyone but mental patients"?

Once upon a time 3

My pa painted on our house! (photographed by me.)

Once upon a time 2

My ma was relaxing in our garden! (photographed by me.)

Once upon a time

This is from when I had a life! (15 y.o. Exam at my school.)

The world and my room is one

Enjoy this Matisse!

Paul Wittgenstein plays Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand ...

Look Tomas. The left-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein! (very rare footage. The only one I´ve seen.)

Dinu Lipatti-Bach Cant.No147 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben

Best piano recording ever made. By the greatest pianist ever.

Meeting on the Beach

Romantic painting by Gunnar Berndtson! (1854-95.)

In the Streets of Sweden

In Sweden we have bipolar bears! :)

Happy child

Noone can rob me of my child-hood! (I sit with my mum. And wave at my dad.)

Bow to power

Who is worth listening to?

What did Jesus mean when he said his kingdom was "not of this world"? I suggest he meant this world of status, position, wealth and posh titles. Did HE have a title? (none whatsoever.) He was rich? (nope.) A position in society? (haha.) He was a nobody? A loser? (yep. At least that´s what THEY thought.)
So. Perhaps best not to wave away nobodies? Not to bow to wealth, position and power? Not to crawl in the dust before someone with a posh title?

Kick the ball

Played any soccer yet?

Another smash hit

Eh?

Really beautiful tune

I´m better at this! (my own composition.)

The country girl (the sequel)

Here I pretend to be a country-singer again!

The country girl

I improvised this today! (inspired by the Pippi Longstocking of country Naomi Judd.)

Larger than life

Freud had a special expression for people who refuse to realize they are ordinary human beings. He called them "grandiose". Those persons tend to see themselves above any sort of criticism. They are perfect. They have no faults. My reponse to them? Congratulations. You have managed to become God! (if you scrutinize them you will find they have LESS self-esteem than the humble ones. The God impersonation is just a way to avoid looking like total losers.)

We

I am reading "The Gift of Therapy" by Irvin D Yalom. I like it because he doesn´t try to look like The Holy Therapist. (people mostly think therapists are Models of Sanity. Not bothered by problems like us mere mortals.) He says in one chapter that his therapist (yes my dears, even therapists have to undergo therapy) once said (when he was accusing himself for being greedy and selfish) "That´s how we are." (and she didn´t of course mean "You and me scoundrels".)
We. Did anyone see this? Did you think about it? That we are all in the same boat? There are not 2 species. But one. (unless you are a dog or a cat. But then you won´t be reading this blog.) Homo sapiens!

Dream House

And what do I intend to do for the damage? (skadestånd.) Buy this cottage!

Psychiatric backlash

I have now sued my municipality (community.) For having forced their "psychiatry" on me! (it´s against the law. I only recently discovered this. One must APPLY for it.) I´ve struggled like an idiot to get free from this "psychiatry". (which isn´t even worth CALLING psychiatry.) I was NEVER - during 35 years - forcibly incarcerated by the REAL psychiatry. (they never do this with people just suffering from ordinary panic anxiety.) Plus I was deemed CURED by them. Something which my municipalities (here and in Stockholm) refused to acknowledge! (here they didn´t even contact them. Social workers thought they could do a psychiatric evaluation all on their own!)

This is the worst psychiaric backlash during my lifetime. I have to tell the UN about it. Social workers have been permitted to take over psychiatry in Sweden! (at least part of it. 30.000-40.000 patients are probably affected.)

Not daffodils

Well I prefer sun flowers! (it´s called poetic licence.)

The Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high over vales and hills
when all at once I saw a crowd
a host of golden daffodils
beside the lake
beneath the trees
dancing and fluttering in the breeze.

I gazed and gazed
and little thought.
A poet could not but be gay
in such a jocund company!

For oft when on my couch I lie
in vacant or in pensive mood
my thoughts want to this image fly
which is the bliss of solitude.

(I bet I quoted some of it wrong.
I memorized it back in 1967.)

Nice poem, William!
Greetings from your sister Dotty :)