Kierkegaard’s Cupboard (Paperback)

The life of the influential Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard has inspired this book of poems by Marianne Burton. Burton, whose debut collection, She Inserts The Key, was nominated for the Forward Prize, has delved closely into the extensive writings both by and about Kierkegaard. She has distilled this knowledge into a sharp, lively and intriguing series of poems, all variations of the 14-line sonnet, written in the first person, so that we seem to hear the voice of the philosopher in all of the moods which characterize the various periods of his life. The ‘cupboard’ of the title refers to a wooden cabinet that Kierkegaard had made in order to store his letters and reminiscences of his beloved Regine, who he met and fell in love with when she was a young woman. He declined to marry her, but she nevertheless occupied his thoughts and dreams throughout his life. Dedicated to a life of the mind, he produced numerous books outlining his ideas of freedom, the religious life, man’s moral duties, as well as novels and essays. Burton brilliantly captures the voice of Kierkegaard, his intellectual wit, his pointed ways with paradox, his depth of feeling and his compassionate, lively and sociable personality in this series of poems.