Theodor Kallifatides: A new country outside my window
Philosofical narrative about alienship, written in a easy and humourous language.
Greekborn author born 1943.
Immigrated to sweden 1964.
Number of prices.
Mikael Niemi: Popularmusic from Vitula
Novell about growing up in the 60’es and 70’es in the northern parts of Sweden close to the border of Finland. About identity, violence, isolation, survivance.
Swedish/finnish author born 1959.
Number of prices.
Jonas Gardell: The adolesence of a comediant
Novell about growing up in a suburb to Stockholm in the 70’es. About how difficult it is to chose the right side when you are splitted between the wish to be accepted and recognized and the loyalty to your friends.
Swedish homosexual author born 1963.
Poems, plays, novells, series, songs.
Number of prices
Katerina Janoush: Summerchild
Novell about immigrating to a new country as a child. The struggle to become “one of them” and the price immigration has to even a child.
Chezckborn author born 1964.
Immigrated to Sweden 74 (12 years old).
A new country outside my window,
by Theodor Kallifatides
Is a small collection of observations according swedish and greek, alienship and homefeeling – in the language as well as in the culture.
Written with humour, warmth and keenness “A new country outside my window” is a naked, beautyful narrative about the options you have as an alien.
“In the beginning when I was a an alien who had to conquer the “alien-ship” I through myself over the new language like a starving dog over a piece of juicy meat. I ate up the swedish language. I filled my mouth with words, tewed them, swallowed them. I took certain words in my mouth like pieces of chocolate: fors (waterfall), älv (river), flod (river), fjäll (mountain), berg (mountain), hav (sea), vik (creek), sol (sun), moln (cloud), regn (rain), snö (snow), dag (day), natt (night). I fell for the monosyllabicness in the swedish nature.
As a writer I have never been more free than in those first poems when the writing wasn’t connected to insignificants like sentence, meaning, motive. But it’s just once in a lifetime you can write in this way.”
About Theodor Kallifatides
Theodor Kallifatides is one of the most known authors in Sweden. In 2000 he was appointed by the government as professor ”of a magnificent body of work”. He has edited around 30 books and had a number of prices.
Theodor was born in Greek, came to Sweden 1964 without knowing one word in swedish. He started working in the kitchen in a hotel and only 2 years later he started at the university studying philosofi. He had learned himself the swedish language by reading “Miss Julie” – (a Strindbergplay) with help from a dictionary.
Popularmusic from Vitula, by Mikael Niemi
Pajala is very far north in Sweden close to the border of Finland. Uphere its dark and cold in the winter and midnightsun in the summer. It’s a very isolated place, far far away from the southerns parts of Sweden where the capitol, the universities, the “life” takes place.
The novell describes in a humorous but still serious way the teenagelife in this bilingual and bicultural society in the late 60’es and 70’es. Matti and his best friend Nilla survieves as human individuals in a very closed and violent society by playing music in a popband.
It’s a novell about growing-up searching after values different from those given to you through the environment you are born into. A novell about friendship, loyalty and strong will.
About Mikael Niemi
His father was a policeman his mother a teacher.
Mikael Niemi started writing poem and novells at the age of 15, dreaming about becoming an author.
He studiet 4 years in a workrelated high-school in Luleå. He stayed there 20 years before moving back to Pajala again.
First edition in 1988: Nosebleeding during First Morningservice (a poemcollection)
It was Popularmusic from Vitula that became his breakthrough in 2000. This novell
was awarded with the Augustprice in 2000.
The adolescense of a comediant, by Jonas Gardell
A novell about the search for identity, taking place in a small suburb to Stockholm in the 70’es. In a beautyful, sensitvie language Gardell takes us into the mind and soul of a young, frustrated, uncertain teeanageboy who wants to become a comediant. His struggle to gain respect and recognition makes it very hard for him to avoid grupppressure, to be loyal to his friends, to be honest to himself.
The obtions in the suburb are limited, so leaving the place to follow his dreams is his way out of the mess. But his consiousness keep finding him whereever he is and whatever succes he reach in his career – and now and then it even materialize when old schoolmaids turns up to his shows.
About Jonas Gardell
Born in 1963 i Enebyberg, Danderyd, is a swedish author, playwriter, comediant, singer, dramatist and artist.
He was rewarded with several prices for novells as well as plays and music. In 2008 Gardell was appointed Dr. of Honor at the theological faculty at the university in Lund
Gardell grew up in a religious society, his parents psykologists giving their children a lot of freedom to develope fantasy and creativity.
Gardell is homosexual, living openly with his partner through many years. They have 2 children.
Katerina Janouch: Sommarbarn (Sommerbarn)
Prag i 60’erne er en levende, myldrende by. Her vokser Katerina op i en kærlig familie med mange venner. Dagene fyldes med leg og de uendelige somre tilbringes på landet hos den elskede farmor. Livet er lyst og sorgløst.
Men tilværelsen forandres da sovjetmagten indtager landet i 1968. Katies far kæmper mod det nye regime og tilværelsen bliver utryg, da sikkerhedspolitiet begynder at overvåge familien og aflytte deres telefon. Livet bliver mørkt og tungt alvor.
Tjekkoslovakiet forvandles til et land hvor de ikke længre er velkomne. Familien tvinges til at lægge det gamle liv bag sig og havner til sidst i Stockholm. Der i den grå betonforstad bliver udenfor-følelsen smertelig tydelig. Den elleve-årige Katie udsættes for mobning og må kæmpe for at blive accepteret af de andre børn. Vendepunktet kommer da hun som sommerbarn hos en svensk familie får chancen for at opleve ”det rigtige Sverige”.
Sommarbarn er en fængslende beretning om hvordan en piges liv forandres dramatisk. Hun tvinges til at forlade alt som er hende kært og kendt for at begive sig ud i det ukendte. Bogen fortæller om livet som indvandrer i Sverige den splittethed det indebærer at have en anden hisotrie og samtidig forventes at tilpasse sig til et nyt sprog, nye traditioner og en ny måde at leve på.
Om Katerina Janouch
født 22 februari 1964 i Prag, mor til 5, forfatter, sexrådgiver og journalist.
Janouch kom til Sverige fra det daværende Tjekkoslovakiet i 1974, hvor familien bosatte sig i Stockholm. Efter universitetsstudier i kunstvidenskab och litteraturvidenskab har hun arbejdet som forlagsredaktør och oversætter samt som frilancejournalist for bl.a. Mitt Livs Novell, Expressen och Vecko-Revyn. Hun var endvidere med til at starte det svenske Elle.
I 1992 begyndte Janouch at svare på spørgsmål i Vecko-Revyns samlivsspalte, og det er i rollen som sexrådgiver hun er blevet mest kendt af et bredere publikum. Siden 2003 har hun svaret på spørgsmål om sex och samliv i Expressen. Hun medvirker også i tidskrifterne Mama og Tove med egne spalter.
Udover sin journalistiske virksomhed, har Janouch også skrevet romaner och faktabøger for børn og voksne. I bogen Pårørende fortæller Janouch i skønlitterær form om sin mands langvarige alkohol- och kokainmisbrug og hvordan de sammen bemestrede situationen.
I 2008 gick hon med i et rådgivande råd til tænketanken ”Sektor 3”
