Kim Simonsen

The Biological composition of a Drop of Seawater is Reminiscent of the Blood in my Veins

Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Verksmiðjan
Year: 2023
Pages: 66
ISBN: 978-99918-899-0-0
English sample translation available

A remarkable exploration of the ocean, mortality, and the hidden relationships that sustain life on Earth.

Centered on the ocean as both a physical and symbolic presence, this collection moves between personal loss and scientific wonder. The speaker reflects on the death of his father, a lifelong sailor, while contemplating the sea that shapes lives, memories, and landscapes.

Blending poetry with philosophy, biology, and natural history, Kim Simonsen asks searching questions about humanity's place within the living world. From fish and fungi to trees, viruses, and microorganisms, the collection reveals the intricate web of relationships that bind all living things together. Thoughtful, curious, and deeply original, it is a meditation on grief, belonging, and the stories we tell about ourselves and those we have lost.

Kim Simonsen (b. 1970) is a Faroese writer and scholar. He is the author of seven books as well as numerous essays and works of non-fiction. In 2014, he received the Faroese National Literature Prize (M.A. Jacobsen) for his poetry collection What Good Does It Do for a Person to Wake Up One Morning This Side of the New Millennium (2013).

Awards and recognition
Nordic Council Literature Prize 2024 nominee; Faroese

Rights sold to: Italy, Estonia, Hungary, North Macedonia