Ross Donlon's 'Writing on Wild Water' consists of tanka written in 5/7/5/7/7 syllables for the five lines. The sequence was begun five years after the publication of Sj vegen (The Sea Road) in 2015. 50 poems were the written in Messen about swimming in the 'wild water' of Hardangerfjord.. Later, during a period of Covid lockdown in Australia, the author added another 50 poems to make a simple narrative.
Ross Donlons' poems speak directly to the hearts and souls of the artists who once resided at Kunstnarhuset Messen on the Hardangerfjord. So beautiful to follow the journey by bus from Bergen, past all the small towns, fjords and waterfalls to arrive in Alvik. The repetitive swimming mornings, the daily routine of working in the studios, the flow moments of creating, staring at the view of the mountains and falling in love with the Hardangerfjord for life, all is to find again in Ross Donlon's poetry.
Ingrid Pasmans, visual artist, Amsterdam