Against My Dreams

These engaging narrative poems are written in the voice of the author¿s grandmother, Gunnhild Olavsdatter Breland, daughter of a man who refuses to believe the earth is round. Born in 1894 in a tiny farm district in the mountains of southern Norway, she follows her older sister to America, settling in New York City, a remarkable contrast to the landscape of her childhood. Gunnhild knows no English and has about a year of schooling. An exploration of an immigrant¿s life that spans the...
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These engaging narrative poems are written in the voice of the author¿s grandmother, Gunnhild Olavsdatter Breland, daughter of a man who refuses to believe the earth is round. Born in 1894 in a tiny farm district in the mountains of southern Norway, she follows her older sister to America, settling in New York City, a remarkable contrast to the landscape of her childhood. Gunnhild knows no English and has about a year of schooling. An exploration of an immigrant¿s life that spans the Twentieth Century, this is a piece of the American story. It¿s also the story of a particular woman, marginalized by gender, national origin, mental illness and social class, who weaves folktale and Old Country wisdom with her own unique practicality and hard-won truth.