Lithouse Podcast

The year is 2043, and an astronomer at the South-African Space Agency receives a package filled with documents, which contain a warning that the earth will end in 10 years.The documents are diary entries and audio tapes by a girl, relaying first her adolescence in the 1990s, when she explores her sexuality and tries to find her mother, who disappeared without a trace when she was little, and then moving to her daily life as an adult.Through the history of the girl, we see how South-Africa’s dark past is still shaping its present, and mirrored in a dystopian future, where environmental issues are rampant, and social issues is solved by creating work camps across the country.In his novel Triangulum, Masande Ntshanga combines different genres in a story which illustrates, convincingly, that South-Africa’s dystopian past is far from a closed chapter.Ntshanga is the author of two novels and a chapbook. His debut The Reactive won him the debut prize the Betty Trask Award, while Triangulum was nominated for the Nomm

«I’ve always found Science Fiction to be a form that’s irrevocably linked to critiques of power and societal structures,» writer Masande Ntshanga has said. During his adolescence, he read a lot of science fiction, and his latest novel, Triangulum, makes use of several elements from the genre.Science fiction, speculative fiction and afrofuturism are literary genres on the rise on many countries, including Norway and Ntshanga’s home country, South Africa. What makes science fiction the preferred genre in which to explore possible future scenarios, or in which to pick apart contemporary power structures?In this personal lecture, Ntshanga will talk about what science fiction literature has meant to him as a reader and writer, and about the significance of the genre for writers who want to imagine another world.Masande Ntshanga is a South African writer, poet and editor of New Contrast Magazine. For his debut novel The Reactive, he was awarded the Betty Trask Award, while his second novel, Triangulum, was nominate

What is transgender literature? Is it simply works by writers who identify as transgender? Or might it be thought of as a lens to read through, or a certain kind of attention? If it is the latter: in what tradition might we locate transgender literature?In this talk, American author Torrey Peters will argue for finding the roots of current transfeminine literature in older works that explore the performance of masculinity, works that in fact have been popularly accepted as containing little ambivalence about the meanings of gender. The primary focus will be on Ernest Hemingway, but with slight detours into Per Petterson, Thomas Mann, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Evelyn Waugh, and the pharmacology of steroid regimens taken by extreme bodybuilders.Torrey Peters rocketed into the international literary scene with her debut novel Detransition, Baby, a warm and intelligent exploration of gender, parenthood and trans life. The novel was among other prizes nominated for The Women’s Prize for Fiction, and is c

Torrey Peters rocketed into the international literary scene with her debut novel Detransition, Baby, the first novel written by a trans woman to become an international best seller. Peters explores the complexeties of trans life, and compares transitioning to cis women starting over after a divorce: Everything you thought you knew about the future has to be scrapped, and you have to create a new identity that society doesn’t have any rules for.The novel portrays Reese, a trans woman who always wanted children, her transgendered ex-partner Ames and his pregnant girlfriend. Can the three of them be parents together, and if so, what would that look like? Who are their role models? How can trans women creates good lives, when so many aspects of ordinary life are still unavailable to them?Detransition, Baby, now available in Kirsti Vogt’s Norwegian transalation, gives a unique insight into the everyday dilemmas trans people meet. The novel was among other prizes nominated for The Women’s Prize for Ficti

«Every time we say it can’t get any worse it does,» writer Tsitsi Dangarembga has said about the situation in her home country Zimbabwe.The UNs special envoy has reacted to the arbitrary arrests of activists and politicians from the opposition. Last year, Dangarembga was herself convicted after partaking in a peaceful protest with one other activist in 2020. While large parts of the middle class and cultural elite has left Zimbabwe, Dangarembga has staid put and fought for change. Now she debates moving countries.Across the world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to protest governments and large corporations. Environmental activists are especially vulnerable: According to the human rights organization Global Witness, 200 environmental activists were murdered across the world in 2021 alone.In 2016, South African activist Nonhle Mbuthuma lost a close friend and colleague. Ever since, she has lived with constant death threats in her work to protect the nature and community where she lives, on the east coast

Just weeks after the historical film Ellos Eatnu/Let the River Flow had premiered, lead actress and activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen was back in chains – for real, this time. Together with fellow Sami activists, she barricaded the Department of Oil and Energy, to protest that the authorities have done nothing in the 500 days since Norway’s Supreme Court ruled that the wind park in Fosen violates the human rights of Sami reindeer herders in the area.South African Nonhle Mbuthuma has also fought for her people’s land and rights. Together with her community, the indigenous group in Pondoland, she took the Australian mining company Transworld Energy and Minerals to court – and won.Hætta Isaksen and Mbuthuma both fight a double fight, for nature and for indigenous people’s right to their culture and traditions. For many indigenous activists, the environmental struggle is seen as an integrated part of the fight against extractivism – extracting natural resources for export and sale – and that against colonialism.F

Through more than 30 years, Zimbabwean Tsitsi Dangarembga has made her mark as a writer and director. With her trilogy of novels following Tambu, she portrays a period of upheaval for her home country, from life under the colonial regime of Rhodesia to the struggle for freedom and the disillusioned everyday life after independence.Her debut novel Nervous Conditions was not only the first novel in English published by a Black woman in Zimbabwe, it has become a modern classic, and in 2018, it figured on BBC’s “100 books that changed the world”. That same year, the third book in the trilogy, This Mournable Body, was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker prize.But it was not a given that Dangarembga would end up in this position, and at one point, it seemed she would not be able to publish her first book at all. In her recent essay collection Black and Female, Dangarembga connects the personal and the political in her recount of how she has been forced into a constant uphill battle to be heard, as a Black p

A young girl from a poor family fighting to get the education she wants, but which is primarily reserved for her brother. A beautiful and worldly friend who brings her out of her shell. The history of a region told through the childhood of a young girl.This could be the description of Elena Ferrante’s Naples Quartet, but in fact it describes the trilogy of Tsitsi Dangarembga, began several decades earlier.In this trilogy, we follow the young girl Tambudzai from her childhood in colonised Rhodesia, through adolescence during the liberation war to the young woman attempting to carve out a life for herself in an independent, but disillusioned, Zimbabwe.How are these novels read today? And why is it that many of the most central authors from the African continent are still unfamiliar to many European readers?Dangarembga has made her mark as a writer for more than 30 years. In 2021, she was the eighth writer to be included in the art project The Future Library in Oslo, and this Spring, she was awarded the Fre

Jamaica Kincaid is one of the greatest authors of feminist and postcolonial literature of our time. In her handful of novels and a collection of short stories, she has portrayed themes such as structural racism, otherness and mother-daughter relationships with soberness and astonishing clarity. She has emerged as a favourite among readers and critics alike, and is increasingly mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.In Lucy, a young woman travels from a Caribbean island to an American metropolis to work as an au pair for a wealthy family. Her new home offers culture shocks in the form of the new climate and city life, but also in the form of visible class differences and racism. Trapped in hierarchy and gender norms, Lucy feels isolated and alone, and must figure out how yet to grow as a person and live a meaningful life.Speaking with Kincaid is journalist and feminist bookshop founder Ida Pallin Bostadløkken. She has devoured Kincaid’s works with eagerness and joy, and March 15, 2023,

“How will you show the destroyed city?”The Trofymchuks live in a small city in Donbas’ “Red Zone”, Ukraine, which since Russia’s invasion in 2014 has seen frequent shellings and the breakdown of infratructure. They plan to make a film showing their new daily life, and at the dinner table discuss how best to capture the destruction, uncertainty and despair that the war has brought. Just as important is the question of how to show the joys, resilience and community in their neighbourhood and in the family, even in the most dire of circumstances. What is the power of art in a world filled with horrors and absurdities?In the documentary The Earth is Blue as an Orange (2020), filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk follows the Trofymchuks through one year of living on the frontline of the war, documenting their wish to tell the story of their city. This way, she also portrays the many thousands of families in Ukraine trying to keep hold of the brighter spots in an otherwise dark time.Iryna Tsilyk is a Ukrainian

As a little girl, Lea Ypi regarded Stalin and Albania’s leader Enver Hoxha as dependable father figures, she liked how her teacher Nora har simple answers to everything, and what she wanted most of all, was to be named a pioneer. But when the communist regime falls in 1991, the young Lea suddenly realizes that nothing is truly like she thought. Has her whole life been a lie?In her memoir Free: Coming of Age at the End of History, Ypi depicts an unusual childhood: Before she came of age, she had lived trough a communist regime and its fall, the neoliberal society that succeeded it, as well as a ghastly civil war. With acute awareness, attention to detail and no small amount of wit, Ypi offers her reader a unique insight into Albania’s recent history and contention between ideologies and political and economic interests.With her childhood in Albania, Lea Ypi is today a professor of political theory at London School of Economics, where she, among other things, teaches Marxism. Her memoir Free was awarded the Ond

The world in which we live is by and large designed and built for “the ideal man”: The size of cell phones, seat belts in cars, the development of medication – there are countless examples. And most of this we take for granted, that is how used we are, both women and men, to men being the norm, the universal form.If something is to change in the world that is constantly overlooking women, we have to first be aware that this is happening, says writer Caroline Criado Perez. In her book Invisible Women, she lets the numbers speak for her: Data and statistics from all areas of society and a number of countries all show the same picture. “When we see it, we see it. But someone has to point it out to us,” Linn Stalsberg writes in an essay about invisible women in Agenda Magasin. And Criado Perez points it out to us. Where do we go from here? What would change in design and politics if the world started including the experiences of women?Criado Perez is a critically acclaimed writer, journalist,

It is a rare occation when the author of cult books such as American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction releases his first novel in 13 years. For readers of Bret Easton Ellis’s earlier books, The Shards has a familiar atmosphere, and he doesn’t shy away from explicit descriptions of sex or violence.We are in early 80s LA, and the main character, Bret Ellis, is 17 and a senior at the prestigious private school Buckley. A charming new student in class challenges Bret’s attempt to hide his attraction to men.But something darks lurks beneath the glossy surface. The story is told by a now middle aged Bret revisiting the fatal senior year when a serial killer appeared in LA. Leafing through his old yearbook, he notices the five classmates that are missing.Ellis likes to provoke, both in fiction and in public debate. The Shards is no exception. First published in serial format on Ellis’s own podcast, the story is passed off as a memoir based on Ellis’s own experiences, much like the earlier Lunar Park. As the serial

The young girl Hirut starts working for a wealthy couple, but is soon brought into their many quarrels, their jealousy and grief over the loss of a child. This is Ethiopia in the 1930s. Things go from bad to worse when Italy, led by Mussolini, invades the country, and Hirut’s master is tasked with organizing an opposition army. His wife refuses to wait at home for him, and creates her own force, made up by women. In the capital, emperor Selassie attempts to shut out the dire situation through the sound of opera.In her novel The Shadow King, Maaza Mengiste takes as her starting point a central chapter in the history of Ethiopia , as well as her own family history. She invites us into the realities of the servant Hirut and her madame, but also that of the army leader Kidane, the Italian soldier Ettore and the emperor Haile Selassie. The result is a polyphonic novel that broadens our perceptions of the Ethiopian-Italian war and the lives of human beings in this great history.Mengiste was born in E

Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is an author, screenwriter, and former head of the Zanzibar International Film Festival. In 2003, the Kenyan won the Caine Prize for African Writing, and her 2013 debut novel, Dust, won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature. In 2015, Owuor visited the House of Literature, a visit that resulted in the Norwegian publication of Dust. The critically acclaimed The Dragonfly Sea followed in 2019. These authors are on Yvonnes reading list:Makena OnjericaOduor OkwiriDennis MugaaIdza LuhumyoTroy OnyangoRemy NgamijeGloria MwanigeKwame NyongoAleya KassamIn this podcastseries the House of Literature in Oslo, Norway invites writers and thinkers to talk about their work, what they read and present their readinglist from the African continent and diaspora. Interviewer in this episode Nosizwe Lise BaqwaEditing and production by the House of LiteratureMusic by Ibou Cissokho The House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri

Nadifa Mohamed is the writer of three novels, with the two first, Black Mamba and The Orchard of Lost Souls available in Norwegian translation so far. In 2017, Mohamed participated in The House of Literature’s festival on Somali literature, A nation of poets. During the pandemic, she interviewed Arundhati Roy and Édouard Louis for the House of Literature and Linn Ullmann’s podcast How to Proceed. In 2013, she appeared on Granta’s list of best young British writers. Mohamed’s latest novel, The Fortune Men, was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize in 2021. Mohamed teaches creative writing at the Royal Holloway University in London. This is Nadifas reading list.Allah is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma, translation by Frank Wynne, Heinemann. (2006) (originally in French 2000)Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote by Ahmadou Kourouma, translation by Frank Wynne,  Heinemann (2003)(originally in French 1998)Home to Harlem by Claude Mckay (1928)Banjo by Claude Mckay (1929)Romance in Marseille by Claude Mcka

Damon Galgut’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Promise follows the white South-African Swart family, living on a farm outside Pretoria. The story follows the nuclear family through the waning years of the apartheid state, through the 1994 liberation and until the children are grown, close to our time.Galgut’s story glides through the decades of South Africa’s recent history, weaving in and out between the various family members, often changing the perspective mid-sentence from one to another, or to the mildly sarcastic narrator. It is a story about a family’s decline, and about how life largely continues unchanged for the white minority in South-Africa.Damon Galgut is the author of a number of award winning novels and plays, including The Good Doctor, Arctic Summer and In a Strange Room.At the House of Literature, he was joined by political scientist and artist Nosizwe Lise Baqwa for a conversation about broken promises and a white, South-African family in decline.The Ho

Warsan Shire is a critically acclaimed and award winning British poet. In 2016, the artist Beyoncé named her one of her favorite poets, and she appears both on the album «Lemonade» and in the film «Black Is King». In 2014, she was the first poet named Young Poet Laureate of London.Shire, born to Somali parents in Kenya and raised in Great Britain, has said that she draws on her own experiences as an immigrant, as well as those of her family and friends in what she writes. Shire has published two chap books, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth and Her Blue Body as well as one full-length poetry collection, Bless the Daughter Raised By a Voice In Her Head. Her poetry explores themes such as girlhood, mothers and daughters, black identity, migration, family and faith in a striking language, interspersed with both references to pop culture and phrases in Somali.Athena Farrokhzad is a Swedish poet and writer, best known for her debut collection Vitsvit (White Blight),

Édouard Louis 2022: In a world dominated by state narratives and information wars, what is the role of the writer?Power imbalances, exploitation and the dark history of Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe are among the recurring themes in the works of Finnish-Estonian writer and playwright Sofi Oksanen. Her blend of surrealist elements and real-world political plotlines allow for a literary exploration of where political power has been focused historically and where it lies today.Édouard Louis has long been an admirer of Oksanen’s works. The two authors are also politically active in their home countries, and now meet for a conversation on speaking (and writing) truth to power. What does it mean to be a political writer?The conversation will be moderated by Ane Farsethås, critic, author, and cultural editor in Morgenbladet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Édouard Louis 2022: Alan Hollinghurst and Édouard Louis have long read each other’s books with great interest. While Louis has written brutally honest depictions of growing up gay in a homophobic family and environment, Hollinghurst’s fiction explores gay culture and experience through the decades, including the AIDS crisis and gay life prior to decriminalization in the UK. While Norway marks 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalized this year, LGBT rights are being curbed around the world, and this year’s Oslo Pride ended in a fatal shooting. In such a climate, is the gay writer forced into an activist role by virtue of their being gay? Is there a pressure to represent when writing from a minority perspective? In this conversation, Hollinghurst and Louis will talk about their relationship to each other’s books, about the role of gay literature and the plight of the gay writer. Leading the conversation is Knut Olav Åmås, director of the Free Word Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acas