Dag Hammarskjold Reflection
When I was in graduate school I discovered the beloved Swedish statesmen and poet extraordinaire Dag Hammarskjold and his famous Markings. This amazing book is a collection of entries into Hammarskjold's journals. It was first published in 1964, about four years after he died. He left it to a friend of his and said that he could do whatever he wanted with them.
The following is from the letter that was found with the material:
"Dear Leif:
Perhaps you may remember I once told you that, in spite of everything, I kept a diary which I wanted you to take charge of someday.
Here it is.
It was begun without a thought of anybody else reading it. But, what with my later history and all that has been sold and written about me, the situation has changed. These entries provide the only true 'profile' that can be drawn. That is why, during recent years, I have reckoned with the possibility of publication, though I have continued to write for myself, not for the public.
If you find them worth publishing, you have my permission to do so- as a sort of white book concerning my negotiations with myself- and with God.
Dag."
I have found this book to be a great companion through the years. I want to offer some quotations from it as edification for those who travel the back roads like Dag and like I have tried to do myself.