Throughout 2024, we will continue our program series with invited curators from across the Nordic region.
It’s time for another autumn of queer literary conversations, readings, performances, and much more! We begin with an evening co-curated by the artist Nadia Maghder and the Danish poet Elias Sadaq: on colonialism and djinns, followed by an evening on the theme of queer translation curated by the founder of Sweden’s only LGBTQ bookstore, Lou Mattei. In November, we return to Denmark to explore new kinships together with Maja Lee Langvad, and conclude the autumn with an evening curated by Theodor Hildeman Togner, who, together with guests, invites you to a night about how queers talk.
Below you will find information about all the evenings. Welcome to Oceanen!
November 22: Maja Lee Langvad NEW KINSHIPS
Poet and author Maja Lee Langvad curates an evening exploring themes of family, (homo)sexuality, trans identity, love, and transformation!! Together with author C.Y. Frostholm, art theorist Louise Wolthers, and artist MC Coble, the evening will feature discussions, readings, and visual art. Through their artistic practices, they challenge traditional understandings of family and raise questions about new kinships and connections.
Maja Lee Langvad was born in 1980 in Seoul and raised in Denmark. She is one of the most interesting voices in contemporary Danish literature and made her debut in 2006 with the poetry collection Find Holger Danske. In 2016, the much-acclaimed She Is Angry, a furious testimony about being adopted, was published in Swedish translation by Albert Bonniers Förlag. Days with Galloping Heart Palpitations is also available in Swedish, published by Ellerströms. Her latest novel Tolk (Gyldendal 2024) is a tragicomic story of family, transnational adoption and reunion, love and queerness.
C. Y. (Cyf) Frostholm is an author, visual artist, and translator, born in 1963. He has published poetry and prose since 1985. Most recently, Til den ven jeg aldrig har kendt (To the Friend I’ve Never Known) was published on September 3, 2023, and was nominated for both the Politiken and Montana literary prizes.
December 13: Theodor Hildeman Togner Queer Dialogue – How Do Queers Talk?
Theodor Hildeman Togner, Anna Nygren, and Hanna-Linnea Hannu will read dialogues from their novels together and have a conversation about writing queer dialogue.
Theodor Hildeman Togner was born in 1992 and lives in Stockholm. He made his debut with the prose-lyrical poetry collection Out (Lesbisk Pocket, 2015) about girls, flowers, and dysphoria, which was nominated for the Borås Tidning Debutant Prize. In 2022, he published the poetry collection Kärnor on it-lit. This year, he is releasing his first novel, Innan Livet (Before Life), published by Lesbisk Pocket.
Anna Nygren is an author, poet, and playwright, born in 1990 and living in Gothenburg. She has published several books with it-lit and Lesbisk Pocket and works as a lecturer at HDK-Valand.
Hanna-Linnea Hannu, formerly Rengfors, is a poet, author, and folk high school teacher. She has written the books Närhetsprincipen, Candy, Tillsammans i mörker (Together in the Dark), and Ingen dal djup nog (No Valley Deep Enough), all published by it-lit.”
A special thanks to:
The Queer Gaze has been made possible with support from the Swedish Arts Council, ABF (Workers’ Educational Association), and the Ideell Kulturallians (Non-Profit Cultural Alliance). The 2023 program was conducted in collaboration with SAQMI, the Swedish Archive for Queer Moving Images, and QRAB, the Queer Movement’s Archive and Library. The 2024 events are organized in collaboration with the Women’s Folk High School in Gothenburg, where students from the writing course “Your Silence Will Not Protect You” are invited to read their work on Oceanen’s stage.