New Swedish Books, Autumn 2018 1
25 Autumn 2018 Marie Norin (b. 1967) I will hold
out all my hands fingers I said and fell as I said it Publisher Norstedts www.norstedts.se Rights Norstedts Peter Karlsson peter.karlsson@norstedts.se Selected Works Kupa, novel, 2007 Vit vit, novel, 2012 11.05.05 – 14.10.17, poems, 2015 Literary Prizes Malmö Stads författarstipendium 1996 Göteborgs Stads författarstipendium 2001 I will hold out all my hands fingers I said and fell as I said it In Marie Norin’s prose, reality is wide open to the absurd and frightening. Warped characters fall victim to unforeseen events, because anything can happen and nothing can be done about it. Her poetry, however, often expresses a desperate desire for control. These poems work to collect, measure and record unquantifiable human experiences. They tell of a break-up and the resulting property division, about “everything ever touched, the sum of everything ever touched, the weight of the sum of everything ever touched”. Norin writes long inventories of all the items once shared, and also catalogues memories and other immaterial assets. Accusations, dreams, questions, memory aids and emotions are categorised. The resulting poetry is affecting in its efforts to find a language for loss. Photo: Sara Mac Key