SWIMMING IN SEAS OF SAGAS
AJourneyofSeafaring and Survival
MaaroufQannin
Swimming in Seas of Sagas
AJourneyofSeafaringand Survival
MaaroufQannin
Disclaimer:
This book, in its broadest sense, is apremeditatedworkoffiction—a contemplationoflife’svariedstations, asheer poetic reflectionon societal structures, asincere expression of love for nature,a tributeto hope andsteadywill, anda philosophical exploration of thestructural foundations of culture.Any inconvenientresemblance or concerning similarity to real-worldevents, named figures, existing communities, or actual individuals,whether livingordeceased, is unintentional, fortuitous,non-specific,and coincidental.
Swimming in Seas of Sagas:AJourneyofSeafaringand Survival
Firstedition (Print andeBook)
Author: Maarouf Qannin
Editor: Maarouf Qannin
Coverdesign& typography by Maarouf Qannin
Cover photograph: Journey, by Sofiah Qannin.Usedwithpermission.
Publisher:BoD ·Books on Demand, Östermalmstorg 1, 11442
Stockholm, Sweden, bod@bod.se
Printing: Libri Plureos GmbH,Friedensallee 273, 22763 Hamburg, Germany
ISBN: 978-91-8114-313-3
©2026 Maarouf Qannin
No part of this publication is to be reproduced,storedina retrieval system,ortransmitted in anyformorbyany means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—withoutprior written permission from theauthor.
Automatiseradteknikvilkenanvänds för attanalysera text ochdatai digitalform isyfte attgenererainformation, enligt15a,15b och15c §§ upphovsrättslagen (text- ochdatautvinning), är förbjuden.
Dedication
To thosewho standfirmwhentestedbythe trials of hardship, whoendure loss, solitude,and uncertainty, whocontinue forwardwith resolveratherthansurrender.
To everyreader whohas faced fear, allied with thelight of survival, approached thelayered thresholds of choice, andlearnedthatfaith,persistence, discipline,and sensibility areoften thefoundationofinvincible strength.
To thewillthat, even in pitch-dark isolation andbitter stretchesofobscurity, stands,shines, andsharpensthe inward eye to keep clear, purposeful,and free.
To theresonantlandscapes of Sweden,
To themotherlysoilofUppsala, Andtothe smilinghearts that receiverhyme with warmth.
Epigraph
Poetry bearsthe capacity to resound with lived experience and renderitintocompressedlanguage,shaping endurance,fear,and resolveintomeasuredexpression. In long narrativeverse,poetrydoes not merely recount events as sequences of action; it instead records states of beingastheyunfoldacrossthe stations of life.Survival, when articulatedthrough poeticform, becomesmorethananact of stayingalive. It emergesasanelevatedstate of perceptivenessforged underpressure, solitude,and uncertainty.Insuchconditions,language ceases to be ornamental andbecomes functional, reflective, experiential, andprofoundly relational.
Before engaging with Swimming in Seas of Sagas,let this line standasanopening marker,capturing theconditionfromwhich the poemunfolds:
Howharditistoachieve victory
When you’realone breathingsalty water?
—From Swimming in Seas of Sagas
Foreword
Swimming in Seas of Sagas is not merely apoeticnarrative; it is along meditation on survival-as-agency,shapedbylanguage. Its structureand thematic coherencereflect adeliberateengagementwith poetryasa form capable of carryingcomplex experiences across extendednarrativespans in timeand space. From botha linguistic and aliteraryperspective,the poem demonstrates astrong commandof rhythm,cadence, andlexical density,allowingmeaningtoemerge gradually rather than beingimposed directly.
What is striking throughout thepoemishow survival is articulated. It appearsnot onlyasa physical condition but also as a cognitiveprocess that raises pressing questions of ethics,integrity, restraint, andtransgression. This involvesperception, awareness, responsiveness, anddecision-making. Thepoem’sengagement with solitude is equallysignificant. Isolationisnot treatedasabsence but as presence,a stateofongoing engagement.Itbecomesa latitude wherethought intensifies, languagesharpens, andidentitygives voice to itself. Therecurring maritime imagery,while shapingthe setting, also functions as astructuraldevicefor examiningideas of control, vulnerability, power,and freedom.
As areader,I find this work,which includes an epic poemand an endnoterichwithreflectivecommentary, compelling in its refusal to simplify themultidimensionalexperience. It doesnot seek quick resolution or sentimental closure. Instead, it invitesactiveawareness, alertpatience, andcareful reading. Thepoemtrustsits reader,and in doing so,itestablishes atripartiteliteraryconversationthatbrings the reader,text, andsettingintorelation. Forthese reasons,and more,itis aprivilege to introduce Swimming in Seas of Sagas,a work that reflects amaturepoeticvisionand adisciplined commitment to language as avehicle forthought,memory, andsurvival.
—Sarah Qannin
Preface
Swimming in Seas of Sagas is abook that hasemerged froma long period of unflagging writing, deliberate reflection, andaesthetic revision. It encompassesanextendedpoemthatcan be read by readersofvarying backgrounds,asitfollows themovement of a journeyshapedbysurvival, isolation, decision, andendurance. Whetherapproached by thegeneral reader,the student, or thedevoted loverofpoetry, theworkoffers alayered experience,inviting reflectionwithout demandingspecialized study. This work unfolds as one continuous narrative,allowingthemes, images, andideas to developgradually acrossits rhymed stanzas.
Originally,thispoemwas includedina broader, unpublished collectiontitled PoemsfromSweden: ACollectionofVerse Reflecting theGyrations of Life,a body of 366 poemsexploringwide-ranging human experiences. Swimming in Seas of Sagas,however,revealed a distinctivecompactness that warranted itspublicationasa stand-alone work.Its seamless engagement with survival,seafaring, solitude,and moraltesting encouraged theauthortopublishitindependently, allowing itsfullscope andinternalarchitecturetobeencountered without thematic interruption.
Thepoemdraws on maritime settings,remoteness, marooning, andconfrontation, not to retell or revisita specificliterarysource or culturalreference, buttoconverseimplicitly with along literary traditionthatincludesworks such as Robinson Crusoe, Life of Pi,and TheTell-Tale Heart,alongsideother narrativesofself-definition, awareness, andsurvival. Whileany reader maysailthrough its stanzas andtrace itssurface movement,thoseequippedwithbroader literary andpoeticbackgrounds mayencounter deeper layers of reference, structure, andresonance. In this sense, thepoem accommodatesmultiple levels of reading, ranging from experiential immersiontoadvanced literary reflection.
This work neitherinvitesquick reading, i.e.,reading without deliberation, nor demandsthorough contextual andintertextual analysis.Instead,itinvitesattentiveness, patience, andrevisiting. Its language is deliberate,its pacing is intentional, andits structureis designedtobear meaningacrossits length. Thereaderisencouraged to follow thepoemasa journey, allowing its rhythm anddevelopment to unfoldnaturally.Each stanza,following thelast, doesnot move toward aconclusion but opens anew into aconsistent explorationof survival andconsciousness.
Introduction
Swimming in Seas of Sagas is ahauntingpoeticjourneythat develops through endurance,resolve,and confrontation. Structured in five parts, thepoemfollows atrajectoryshapedbysurvivalatsea, isolationonland, internal andexternalstruggle, decisive action, and eventual return to human contact,anending that maybereadas catharsis.While thenarrative advances through concrete events,its deeper focusrests on thepsychological, ethical,and existential dimensions of extremeconditions.
At its core,the poemexamineswhatitmeanstostayhuman underrelentlessconditions of prolongeduncertainty,approaching survival notasmerepersistence,but as an evolving stateof consciousness that demands discernment, restraint, vigilance, and responsibility.The sea, theboat, theisland, andthe figures encountered along theway arenot symbolsimposed fromoutside,but lived environments within whichconsciousness is tested and perception is shaped.Actionand reflection alternatethroughout the poem, allowing thereader to witnessnot onlywhathappens,but how meaningisnegotiatedinmoments of pressure.
Swimming in Seas ofSagas isanepic narrativepoem writteninrhymed pentameter and arranged in five interrelated parts.Thisextended poemtraces alifetested by unchosen isolation,which neverthelessdemands active choice. It followsthe maritimevoyageofMarin Gale, a youngwanderlust-driven adventurer wholeaveshis country home toembrace the challengingfreedom of the
Afterten years of seafaring,Marin's ship is utterly devastated by apirateattack, forcing himinto adesperate strugglefor survival.His journey leads himtoan uninhabited island where secrecybecomes asecond form of survival, andwhere asinglefootprint can dramatically
Rich in maritime atmosphere and epic intensity,thispoem invites the reader intoanunforgettable odysseywoven seadespite hisfather's disapproval.
overturnthe fragile balancebetween safety and danger. acrossthe scopes of seaand land.
