Dreams are a central motif in the poetry of Gunnar Ekelöf, and throughout his writing he uses images from them to present insights unattainable through reason or conscious thought.

Ekelöf reflects qualities of both French symbolists and Scandinavian nature-lyricists. Rimbaud's famous declaration that the poet must make himself a voyant, a seer, affected not only the surrealists, but also led poets such as Ekelöf to explore the darkness within themselves. Ekelöf's fascination with Rimbaud was so profound that he translated a large selection of Rimbaud's prose and poetry and wrote a well-researched introduction for his translations. In this introduction Ekelöf suggests that we see Rimbaud as a sacrifice to the primitive dreams which modern man must retain if he is to stay in touch with his emotional life.

The surrealists also explored dreams, and Ekelöf had a clear affinity for those revolutionary...