In August, André and I travelled to Norway to attend the annual Bjørnson Festival in Molde, a coastal town situated between Ålesund and Kristiansund, also home to an international Jazz Festival. André was invited to be Writer in Residence in Molde and on the fjord island Ona as guest of the Bjørnson Festival.
Before the festival, we travelled to Ørsta where André was interviewed by Stephen Walton at the Ivar Aasen Centre, “a national centre for documenting and experiencing the New Norwegian written culture, and the only museum in the country devoted to Ivar Aasen’s life and work. The Centre lies on the farm where Aasen was born and grew up.”
Beautifully situated on a mountain slope, the Centre chronicles Aasen’s immense contribution to Norwegian culture, especially language. What the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus did for earth’s flora is what Ivar Aasen (1813-1896) did for Norwegian dialects and standard language. There is a transparent wall in the Centre where one can read the line “There are thousands of languages” in several dozen of them (also Afrikaans); in the room which the wall separates from the rest of the museum, you can listen to some of them, even those which are extremely rare. A great linguistic experience. The museum shop at the end of the tour offers a selection of unique souvenirs (among them: the elegant small white mug with Aasen’s assured signature standing on my desk as I write).
From Ivar Aasen’s “The Norwegian” (translated by Kjetil Myskja):
Between cliffs and the billowing breakers
The Norwegian of old found his home
A foundation he laid in these acres
His own hands raised his house from the loam.
[…]
And when the fields are like gardens in May-time,
When each hillside is leafy and green,
And when midnight grows light like in daytime
Nowhere else has such beauty he seen.
We also had the pleasure of being accompanied by one of Norway’s most talented artists, Trine Røssevold, on a trip from Ona to Molde, via the Art Nouveau city of Ålesund. Trine recently worked as scenographer for the film “The Frost”, a Spanish-Norwegian co-production for cinema based on Henrik Ibsen’s play “Little Eyolf”. Watch out for her paintings which feature in the film.
This year’s Bjørnson Festival was opened officially by Knut Vollebaek, OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) High Commissioner on National Minorities. At the opening André read from Praying Mantis which has recently been published as Kneleren in Norwegian by Aschehoug. During the festival André was interviewed by Fredrik Wandrup about the novel and his work in general. André was also asked to give a lecture on recent developments in South African literature, focusing on his own work.
The festival events were mostly held in Norwegian and were unfortunately inaccessible to us. However, the two English-speaking guests to whom we could listen, Kiran Desai and Saad Eskander, shared unforgettable stories with us.
Kiran Desai was interviewed by Hege Duckert at the festival:
On inspiration and writing: “I gather and absorb in India and go back to write in NY.”
On reading: “As a child I read with the hunger of exile.”
On India and immigration: “India is an entire nation brought up to leave for the Western world.”
On the American dream: “It’s hard to speak in opposition to the myth of making it in America…Books saved me because they countered the myth.”
On the price of a sweater: “If a sweater costs less than a movie ticket, than there is something rotten with the world.”
On literary prizes: “Writing has no flag, prizes do.”
Fans of Kiran Desai will be happy to hear that she is working on a new novel.
Saad Eskander, Director of the Iraqi National Library and Archive (INLA), gave a deeply moving lecture at the festival, entitled: “Rising from the Ashes: The Destruction and Reconstruction of INLA (2003-2008).” His words left us speechless and full of hope. André’s article on this moving lecture and our encounter with Saad Eskander was published by Die Burger’s By last Saturday: “Die Boekeman van Bagdad”.
Bagdad, die stad van die legendariese verteller Sjeherazade, is die moederstad van stories. Selfs in ons tyd, nadat dit so min of meer in puin gelê is deur die gesamentlike pogings van Saddam Hoesein en George Bush, en die stad byna onvermydelik bekend geword het as ’n plek van slegte tydings, kom daar nog af en toe ’n rare sonstraaltjie van goeie nuus deur die streek se onweerswolke gesyfer.
Een hiervan het te make met ’n boekeman wat ek onlangs op ’n fees in die klein stad Molde teen die Noorweegse fjordkus ontmoet het. Hy is die Irakiër Saad Eskander, wat aan die hoof staan van Bagdad se Nasionale Biblioteek en Argief en byna man-alleen verantwoordelik was vir die redding van dié kultuurmonument nadat die oorlog van 2003 dit byna met die grond gelyk gemaak het.
Continue reading: “Die Boekeman van Bagdad”
Read also: Diary of Saad Eskander (2006-2007)
Guardian Interview with Saad Eskander: “Books, tears and blood”
Norwegian press coverage:
Interview with André
Interview with André
Interview with Kiran Desai
Interview with Saad Eskander
Thank you to Marit Julien who took this beautiful photograph of Aalesund, sent to us by her brother Arne who met André at the Ivar Aasen Centre:
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Rumours of Rain
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The Rights of Desire
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Imaginings of Sand
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Looking on Darkness
October 1st, 2008 @09:38 #
Wow, Karina - it's another world up there.
October 1st, 2008 @09:53 #
Norway is a fairytale place. In 2005, André and I travelled on the Trollfjord all along the Norwegian coast from Oslo to Kirkenes. A dream journey.
What I also love about Norway: I have never met an unpleasant Norwegian. There must be some, but I never encountered one...
October 1st, 2008 @11:25 #
They're all working as ships officers/gestapo on cruise lines, that's why.
Your pictures of Alesund certainly brought back memories. On our one trip up there some crew members reported their surprise at finding that the local burgers were made with reindeer meat. Some days later I sampled some 'chicken' nuggets from a wharf side food outlet which I am virtually certain were made from elf.
October 1st, 2008 @12:39 #
What do elves taste like, Sven? Don't think I've ever had an elf...
October 1st, 2008 @12:41 #
I would guess the taste is something between whale and Santa ;)
October 1st, 2008 @12:48 #
If you've eaten Sa-moose-as, you've tasted elf.
October 1st, 2008 @13:54 #
Fiona, all I can tell you is that they taste nothing like chicken. You've missed nothing.
October 1st, 2008 @15:33 #
Looks magical -- that picture! I've never been that far North in Europe, but on various trips to Alaska, I've eaten moose, whale-skin (imagine chewing a fatty strip of truck-tyre) and cloudberries. Only the latter induce any nostalgia. I did visit North Pole (a tiny mis-named dorp on the Arctic Circle), but they didn't have elf on the menu that day.
October 1st, 2008 @15:36 #
Fresh Elf is considered excellent, and freezing is not recommended. I have never had elf, but I now have a sudden craving for a piece, lightly floured perhaps, salt and pepper, fried in shallow oil, medium heat; plus a piece of crusty bread... yum.
Apparently, juveniles shoal along the West Coast, while adults migrate to Kwazulu to spawn. Pomatomus saltatrix, also otherwise commonly known as shad, or, indeed, elf.
October 1st, 2008 @16:53 #
Rustum, I believe the more rustic Norwegians leave the bells on when they fillet elf, much like South Americans leave the olive stones in the olives they place in their empanadas.
October 1st, 2008 @18:37 #
Working title: "A few of our favourite things"
Genre: Cookbook
Tagline: South African authors and/on their favourite recipes
Projected sales: 150,000 copies (conservative estimate)
Remarks: We need to get JMC and JvdR on board. Rustum gets a couple of extra pages, plus the foreword.
October 1st, 2008 @19:19 #
Will you allow South African residents to participate, or does one have to have a SA/Australian (see JMC) passport/ID?
October 1st, 2008 @20:41 #
Rustum, shall I tell them, or will you? Erm, erm, we're already "working" on (i.e. thinking about) what might be the first of two cookbooks. Or they might just become an excuse to cook and eat a lot. But now that I have let the cat (Couscous?) out the bag, your fave recipes/food memories will be gratefully received.
October 1st, 2008 @22:53 #
Ek wil dassie. (Phone Lawrence G. for the recipe.)
October 2nd, 2008 @11:43 #
To get into the spirit of things, my submission:
Auntie Hedlegaardbergen's Recipe for Roast New Years Elf
Due to the fact that elves don't freeze well it is recommended that as little time as possible passes between the journey from Lapland slaughtering glen to the chopping board. Salted elf is available throughout the North Pole, however the reconstituted product, while tender, is considered relatively flavourless.
Fresh elf meat is most easily found in the days following Christmas, when the elves are too exhausted to run away from hunters, and are easily ambushed in snowy forest glens whilst high on wild amanita muscaria mushrooms.
The following recipe serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 x whole elf, fresh, filleted
1 x sprig fresh holly
1 tbsp fresh reindeer butter
Coarse Baltic sea salt
Mayonnaise
2 x pickled cucmber
Instructions:
Peel elf using regular domestic potato peeler. Place all clothing, boots and tools in a pot of boiling water, add salt and simmer. Allow to cook for an hour to reduce.
In the meantime, shave elf thoroughly and rinse beneath strong stream of cold water. Rub elf well with coarse sea salt and place on greased baking pan.
Place in pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and brush liberally with reduced sauce. Return to oven, lower heat to 100 degrees and leave to cook for an hour.
In the meantime slice holly leaves thinly and mix with the mayonnaise and shredded pickled cucumber, place elf tartar sauce in small bowl.
Remove elf from oven. At this point you may wish to place a Christmas bauble in the elf's mouth to give it a more cheerful appearance.
Serve elf with tartare sauce, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.
October 2nd, 2008 @12:28 #
Sven, have you been at those amanita muscaria mushrooms again? Or have you run out of edible fynbos in your cave?
October 2nd, 2008 @12:52 #
the thing that really sounds unappealing is the shredded pickled holly leaves
October 2nd, 2008 @12:55 #
Right, we're doing well here. We've got Curried Dassie, Roast Elf, and Braaied Couscous. Now we just need a recipe for Sauteed Literary Critic.
October 2nd, 2008 @13:01 #
Alex has a great recipe for lobster thurmandore.
October 2nd, 2008 @13:11 #
[torn between groaning and giggling...]
October 2nd, 2008 @13:31 #
Colleen, the holly is fresh, not pickled. In a land where hot spices are absent, other means had to be found to induce pain while eating. Those with soft palates can replace the holly with mustard leaves.
October 2nd, 2008 @13:43 #
Er, I may have posted this here already, but we clearly do not get away from the cannibalism theme. So, blame Fiona for bringing up the Sauteed Literary Critic:
http://groundwork.wordpress.com/2006/07/03/the-man-who-would-be-eaten/
October 2nd, 2008 @14:11 #
Rustum, I, for one, appreciate the meticulous attention to detail and thought that went into that blog post. Imagine the public response if you were to publish a recipe rather than an obituary upon his demise.
October 2nd, 2008 @14:17 #
Everyone would want a piece of him.
October 2nd, 2008 @14:22 #
Maybe we should encourage him to increase his salt intake, and perhaps take daily saunas in room warmed by gently smoking oak logs.
October 2nd, 2008 @14:37 #
How strange -- I've lost my appetite. Rustum's blogs usually have the opposite effect on me.
October 2nd, 2008 @15:51 #
Helen, you've never had an appetite for the main ingredient though, so I hope it's that...