Gothenburger get Sveriges Radio’s poetry prize – Göteborgs-Posten

Jorgen Lind, lives in Gothenburg, the Swedish Radio poetry prize for his poetry collection White municipality. A price that is close to his heart.

– I’m completely dazed and completely overwhelmed.

When the Swedish Radio poetry prize on Wednesday evening handed out went to Jorgen Lind for his poetry collection White municipality.

The book is the fifth and final part of his poem suite Rede, a work he had written up for ten years. The White municipality was preceded by Here comes the warm currents (2004), Villa dei Papiri (2006), Feathered ( 2008) and Saskatoon (2011).

Together, the five poetry collections a musical and poetic whole, that says something about the present, about the doubts and love, alienation, parenting and places to rest in.

“ A large-scale and deeply existential project that prints out the self and society in a low voice interaction between poetry and prose. ,” writes Swedish Radio jury including in its citation.

– The suite has put me in a special state. It is with mixed emotions I close it, and wonder what I should do now, says Jörgen Lind.

Yes, what should you do?

– Continue typing anyway. It is an operation that will never end.

The jury, consisting of a handful of earlier poetry prize winners and literary critic, believes Jorgen Lind uniquely “captures the world in a flowing stream with sharpness and tenderness moves between the private and the common. “In his poem, in constant motion, he tries” impaling it going while it was still under way and focuses on the language inadequacy and necessity “.

Work on the first book was liberating for the poet, he says:

– It was an opening, I allowed myself to try different styles and levels, different voices until it became a choral kind. There was room for different parts of myself.

What does “white” in the title Vita municipality?

– White municipality is a kind of pun, with the Latin Vita communis, which aims at the common life. Our conditions of society. Where we are and how it affects us. Sometimes it’s nice to have some of these themes to base even if you do not really know where it controls you or where you will end up.

Jorgen Lind was born in 1966 in Umeå but lives long ago in Gothenburg. He debuted in 1997 with the Ararat , and has published seven collections of poetry.

Poetry award was broadcast live on P1 and P2. The prize is SEK 30 000.

White municipality was named the winner in strong competition with Catherine Frost’s collection of poems Songs and formulas , Jila Mossaeds I breed the deer, Erik Bergqvist Not wind and Carolina Thorell Virgin sources.

Jorgen Lind’s prized collection of poems will return areas in eastern Gothenburg: the poet moves from St. Pauli Church down to Olskrokstorget.

– The place is very important for me. The place is the mount, something one assumes that becomes. Askgravlunden on East Cemetery is another important place for me.

What does this award mean to you?

– It is very difficult to answer, but even banal, it means confirmation. Anyone think that what you have done is good. Then it means something extraordinary to me that it is precisely the Swedish radio and a poetry prize. It’s so funny that they put the focus on poetry and continues to transmit Today’s poem on the radio. The poem is also a stronghold for the people, something to sleep in.