Inger Christensen (1935-2009) was one of Scandinavia's most powerful literary voices. Her ingeniously crafted poetry and prose have been variously called naturalist, experimental, formalist, and structuralist; essentially, her work defies labels. Each of her books resembles nothing else, yet each is imbued with her characteristic visionary clarity and human sensibility. Christensen won numerous major European literary awards, including the Grand Prix des Biennales Internationales de Poésie, the Nordic Prize of the Swedish Academy, and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature. During her final decade, she was consistently mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature, including by Herta Müller.

Denise Newman is a poet and translator. She is the author of three collections of poems, The New Make Believe, Wild Goods, and Human Forest. Her poems, collaborations, and translations have appeared in Denver Quarterly, Volt, Fence, New American Writing, ZYZZYVA, and elsewhere.