Nobel Prize in Literature Fosse: “Reading books makes you feel more powerful in life”

Video conference with 200 Korean readers “My work isn’t that interesting, but the rhyming writing itself is music to me.”

“You don’t have to read a book if you don’t want to. But every great work seems to make us see life in a new way and understand it better.”

Norwegian writer Jon Fosse (65), winner of last year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, said this during a video conference with Korean readers at Gwanghwamun Kyobo Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. On this day, ‘World Book and Copyright Day’, the importance of reading was emphasized. He also emphasized, “Reading books will make you feel life in a more powerful way.”

The meeting on this day was part of the ‘2024 Reading Sympathy – Reading Jon Fosse’ event co-hosted by Daesan Cultural Foundation, Kyobo Book Center, and the Norwegian Embassy in Korea. With about 200 readers in attendance, literary critic Jeong Yeo-ul, who served as moderator, delivered questions from readers, and Fosse continued to answer for about an hour.

Born in 1959 in Haugesund, a coastal city in Norway, Fosse made his literary debut in 1983 with the novel ‘Red, Black’. His death was mainly dealt with, including the full-length novel ‘Morning and Evening’ (2000, Munhakdong), which calmly tells the story of an ordinary fisherman being born and approaching death against the background of a lonely and desolate fjord. He said, “Death actually means the same thing to everyone. “I don’t know what happens after death, but what is certain is that I will die someday,” he said, adding, “The distance between the living and the dead is not that far.”

He has written many works across a variety of genres, including plays, novels, poetry, essays, and fairy tales. His plays have been performed on world stages more than 900 times, making him the second most prolific Norwegian playwright after Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), who wrote ‘A Doll’s House’. He said, “At first, I wrote plays to make a living, but I think crossing genres actually makes a writer’s life easier.” He added, “When writing plays, I can apply what I learned from novels and poetry. “By combining all of these, we were able to create a new language.” When asked why he writes sentences with unique rhymes, he replied, “Writing itself is music to me.”

When Critic Jeong said, “I find deep comfort in your literature,” he responded with a wide smile like a child. “I don’t think my works are very interesting books. But I’m really glad that (my book) can provide comfort.”

Reporter Hojae Lee [email protected]