Nordic Council Literary Prize Nominees — Finland: Kaj Korkea-aho & Sara Abdollahi

See a discussion with Finnish author Kaj Korkea-aho on his nominations for the 2022 Nordic Council Literary Prize, moderated by Sara Abdollahi! Awarded since 1962 alongside other prizes from the Nordic Council in music, film, and environment, the Literature Prize is selected annually for a work of fiction (poetry, prose, or drama) written in one of the Nordic languages. Created to generated greater interest in the sense of Nordic cultural community and to recognize unique artistic endeavors, each year’s prize is selected by the Nordic Adjudication Committee, made up of two members from each of the Nordic nations. One of this year’s nominees from Finland, Kaj Korkea-aho’s "Röda rummet" (Red Room, 2021) follows a young and slightly depressed writer and musician who, growing tired of his poverty as an artist, jokingly places an ad in a local paper offering to write a novel in exchange for a nice apartment. A response comes from someone who appears to be a cross between Hercule Poirot and Mephistopheles; it soon becomes clear that he wants our main character to write a book about him and his desire for submission, in a novel challenges many contemporary notions of power and supremacy, experience and desire. In this talk held virtually from Scandinavia House Online on October 4, Korkea-aho discussed his novel with critic and essayist Sara Abdollahi. Learn more about programming at Scandinavia House at www.scandinaviahouse.org Special thanks to FILI. #literature #finland #booktalk