Mein Kampf

In Hbl, Arne Toftegaard Pedersen looks at the "Knausgård phenomenon". Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgård (b. 1968) has recently published the first volume of a book which bears the not exactly promising title Min Kamp (My Struggle) - a projected 6-volume work which will run to 2,700 pages, narrating the author's life story. In Norway the first volume has topped the bestseller lists, and the author has become a literary superstar. Now the book is on the shortlist for the Nordic Council Literature Prize... 

Questions

The spring issue of Norway's Vinduet magazine is out, and with it come questions: What is a poet? And is Shakespeare easier to read in Nynorsk?

Undoing the Curse

The news that Norwegian author Per Petterson's novel Jeg forbanner tidens elv ( I Curse the River of Time, Aschehoug 2008) has taken the 2009 Nordic Council Literature Prize (see Literary Saloon for April 4) returns us to the question of the non-Nordic reading public's exposure to Scandinavian writing that can't be classified as crime writing - increasingly the only Nordic literary genre that seems to be able to make it overseas. Last year the English-language rights to Petterson's book in the translation now being prepared by Anne Born with the author were quickly grabbed by the ever watchful Harvill Secker (partnered with Graywolf Press in the US), which promotes works by heavyweight Nordic crime authors Arnaldur Indridason and Hanning Mankell.

As James Campbell pointed out in his article/interview published in the Guardian earlier this year, like the author's earlier books (including the Anne Born-translated Out Stealing Horses) this one claims no affiliation to the techniques and procedures of crime writing, but relies for its appeal on a literary style that owes something to Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Carver. Yet, as with the earlier novel, there still remains a question-mark over the degree to which such writing may compete in marketing and sales terms with the runaway success of the burgeoning Nordic crime series:

Gina Winje, who runs Norla, the government office for promoting Norwegian literature abroad, says that "the last few years have seen an increased interest in the English-speaking world". With his new imprint, [Christopher] MacLehose [director of Harvill Secker former director of Harvill Press] is enjoying the current popularity of Scandinavian crime writers. "Whether literary writers will follow Per in such numbers is open to question. But it is undoubtedly the case that Norwegian writing is at a high point."

Certainly, with the bad press Norway has been receiving with regard to one or two controversial aspects of its foreign policy lately, the presence of some decent Norwegian books in English may play an important role in improving the country's image around the world - and so one wishes this new Harvill Secker venture all the best.

Norway translation seminar

Via NORLA:

24-26 May NORLA is arranging a translation seminar for invited translators from all over the world. The seminar is financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is concerned with the promotion of Norwegian literature abroad in general, as well as the translators' work in particular. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre will attend the seminar opening.

Det Norske Samlaget

Language and identity are intertwined. National awareness sometimes goes hand in hand with violence, as in Northern Ireland, Euskadi and Palestine, even this century. But at other times, as when the Baltic States broke with the Soviet Union in 1991, secession was achieved almost without incident. Even today, a peaceful move to secession, based partly on language, is brewing in Catalonia.

Norwegian national aspirations had been around since pre-1814, when after a brief war with Sweden, Norway became part of a dual monarchy. And in 1830, Norwegian language reform took place. In the 1840s and 1850s, Ivar Aasen began to create a new written language, nynorsk, based on dialects. Norway broke with Sweden in 1905. It is intriguing that in Norway, like in Finland, two significant literary languages are used (Sámi is more international). But unlike in Finland, the two languages of Norway are closely linked.

Scroll forward to 1978. In that year, a publishing house was created that publishes books only in this minority version of written Norwegian: Det Norske Samlaget. Nowadays it publishes around 200 titles per year on a variety of subjects, including fiction and poetry. Novels are also translated into nynorsk, such as one by French author Anna Gavalda among those published in spring 2009. See the following webpage for the details of other authors, mostly writing originally in nynorsk at:

http://www.samlaget.no/artikkel.cfm?id=1518

And their main sjønnlitteratur page:

http://www.samlaget.no/section.cfm?path=18,21

One of the authors celebrated on their website is Jon Fosse, major Norwegian playwright and novelist, who is 50 this year. But there are many other authors there, such as short-story author Frode Grytten, and writers producing their first books, such as Hilde K. Kvalvaag, Gaute M. Sortland, and Rune F. Hjemås. The famous novelist Kjartan Fløgstad is also well represented here by various books.

The bokmål majority (around 88% of Norwegians) have not always been happy with the fact that nynorsk continues to be taught and promoted in schools. In 2005, some young conservatives symbolically burnt a copy of a nynorsk dictionary. And the percentage of children being taught nynorsk in primary schools is a mere 14%. But for the time being, the publishing house Det Norske Samlaget continues to thrive.

Dag og Tid

Just a quick introduction to a newspaper that has been added to the links to the right of your screen. Dag og Tid calls itself "...den einaste riksavisa på nynorsk". It is by no means entirely devoted to literature, but is a mouthpiece for those people who want write and read in nynorsk. Obviously, language politics, something that is of importance to literary translators, also features. But if you use the search facility on the website, you can find quite a lot of reviews, available online, of authors, mainly ones writing in nynorsk, such as Jon Fosse, Tarjei Vesaas and Kjartan Fløgstad.

Website: http://www.dagogtid.no/index.cfm

Recently (20th February 2009), they had an interesting article on "Den beste boka i Norden":

http://www.dagogtid.no/nyhet.cfm?nyhetid=1471