Bøger af Lars Norén

Lars Norén (f. 1944) er Sveriges internationalt mest anerkendtedramatiker. Fra 1963-1980 skrev han først og fremmest som digter i envild og voldsom sprogudvikling, der førte frem mod en tæt, krystallinskpoesi med en stærk scenisk ladning. Fra 1980 blev den grundlag for endramatik, der er stærkt naturalistisk, men åben for poetiske indfald,psykoanalytisk inspiration, diskussioner af kunst, kultur og politiksamt menneskelige fortællinger på niveau med de største romaner. LarsNorén har dette efterår udgivet sit første skønlitterære prosaværk Filosofins natt siden 1980, der netop er blevet indstillet til Nordis Råds Litteraturpris 2013.De tre skuespil Hævnarie, Trio til tidens ophør og Fjerne rystelserhandler alle tre meget direkte og oprigtigt om oplevelser af svigt, død, sygdom og menneskers afhængighed såvel som udnyttelse af hinanden. Det gør debåde medfølende, humoristisk og konfronterende i en form, der forenerpoesiens præcise eksistentielle nedslag og sprogtæthed medromanfortællingens bredde og umiddelbarhed – men i en form der erdramatikkens alene.

Lars Norén, generally considered Sweden's greatest playwright since August Strindberg, has written about 75 plays. While they are regularly performed in Nordic and European countries and have been translated into several languages, English-language readers were deprived of his major works until 2013, when Chaucer Press Books published Two Plays: And Give Us the Shadows and Autumn and Winter, followed by Three Plays: Demons, Act, and Terminal 3 (2014). This volume presents two more of Norén's major plays in English, including: ¿ Blood (1994), about a wife and husband tormented over their missing son and the husband's male lover, who are eventually brought together in a heartrending denouement as the unbearable truth of their lives is revealed; and ¿ War (2005), a raw depiction of a family reduced to mere survival, set in an unnamed war-torn country. Their world explodes when the mother and her daughters must confront the unexpected return of her husband-who was presumed to be killed in action-and is now blind and virtually devoid of any humanity. TRANSLATOR: Translator Marita Lindholm Gochman was born in Sweden and came to America in 1964, where she has had a rich theatrical career. In 1985, she translated her first Norén play into English, The Last Supper, and since then has worked with him on 25 of his plays-making her Norén's foremost English language translator. Since 1987 Ms. Gochman has served as a board member of Circle in the Square, The International Theatre Institute, and The Signature Theatre. ENDORSEMENTS: "Lars Norén, regarded by many as the greatest Swedish playwright since Strindberg, has dealt with the love-hate relationships of modern dysfunctional families in emotionally powerful and sombre plays spiced with absurd humour."-Encyclopedia Britannica Online "He has made the present time our home and exposed the anxiety beneath the surface of the welfare state."-Per Wastberg, former chairman of International PEN and editor-in- chief of Sweden's largest daily newspaper.

The Swedish and French cultures have had a long and passionate love story in Paris. For 50 years, the 16th-century palace Hôtel de Marle has been an important meeting place for both cultures. In 1971, the Swedish state opened the Swedish Institute in Paris here Sweden s only house of culture abroad. This book tells the history of the unique city palace and of all exciting events that have taken place there. Among other things, one can read about how the singer Barbro Hörberg taught Georg Riedel to drink cassis, about an unforgettable gala night with the main characters from Christer Strömholm s controversial photo book The Friends from Place Blanche, how the Swedish Institute in Paris showed Hilma af Klint before she became widely known, and how a young Swedish photographer named Eva Klasson got her international breakthrough in Paris. There are also guest appearances from August Strindberg, Greta Knutson, Queen Kristina, Gunnar Ekelöf and many other cultural personalities who have made Paris a second home. This is a book about a house, about people, about culture, but first and foremost about friendship. Amitié!

Ingen er opfølgeren på Lars Norens dystre prosaværk "Filosofiens Nat". Igen er der en lang monologisk form som bærer på sorg og smerte ind i mørket og aldrig ud igen. En mørk bog, der tør tage fat om det hårdeste ved livet.

Med Filosofiens nat er den svenske forfatter og dramatiker Lars Norén nu vendt tilbage til sit udgangspunkt: poesien. Værket er ét langt prosadigt, der på klassisk norénsk vis tager de store eksistentielle spørgsmål op. I en lang strøm af frie associationer tages livet, døden, det religiøse, familien, moderrollen og faderrollen op til en revision, der synes umulig. Norén vover at stille de spørgsmål, der i sidste ende ikke kan besvares, hvis sandheden skal frem. ”Man må leve døden” er en af de formuleringer, der finder en fast form. På trods af dysterheden lægger man bogen fra sig som en beriget læser. Noréns lidenskab er stor og fuld af liv, der med denne bog gives videre.Politikens litteraturkritiker Thomas Bredsdorff kaldte den svenske udgave af Filosofiens nat for et ”kulsort mesterværk af en bog”. En svensk kritiker mener, at ”Noréns nihilisme aldrig har været smukkere”. Værket sikrede forfatteren en indstilling til Nordisk Råds litteraturpris i 2013.