The Dark Sister

New York University Press, New York, 1958. First Edition. Hardcover (Printed Boards). Very Good Condition/No Dust Jacket. In his 'note to the reader' the poet states that the bare bones of his narrative are all in the ancient Greenland and Iceland sagas of the Viking voyages to Vinland. He has indulged in transposition of material and of course in a great deal of interpretative drama; but Freydis' principal acts are quite as they are said to have occurred nearly one thousand years ago. This long narrative poem is based on the Nordic legend of Freydis, half-sister of Leif Ericson, a dark woman of doom and disaster who led a group of Norsemen to Vinland - the country which her father Eric had discovered. The expedition ends in rape, internecine murder, and bloody raids by the Indians - and when Freydis returns to her native home - her final fate seems to be madness. The verse is very passable and is strongly reminiscent of the forms used by Robinson Jeffers; if it is colder, harder, firmer, it is suited to its Nordic subject. A skillful and mature piece of epic poetry. Size: Octavo (standard book size). 115 pages. Spine slightly browned with age. Previous owner's name & address in pencil fep.. Red titles spine;. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 500 grams. Category: Poetry; Poems; Poetry. Inventory No: 3025. .