norway | The Common

All posts tagged: norway

Dispatches from Søgne, Ditmas Park, and Temple

December 3, 2025 Dispatches

Søgne, Norway, July 8, 2018

Sitting around the white painted wood and metal table
that hosted the best dinners of my childhood
my uncle is sharing
his many theories of the world
the complexities of his thoughts are
reserved for Norwegian, with some words here and there
to keep his English-speaking audience engaged

I don’t translate, don’t want to
repeat those thoughts
in any language

but we have a nice time
there’s a cheesecake with macerated peaches
and mint

the sun is low and through the window to my grandma’s house
the heavy lace curtains are catching the light

Translation: Excerpts from EVIL FLOWERS

March 9, 2023 Fiction, Translation

By GUNNHILD ØYEHAUG

Translated from the Norwegian by KARI DICKSON

The following are two stories from Evil Flowers by Gunnhild Øyehaug, translated by Kari Dickson, published by FSG (2/14/23).

The Cliffs, When Dead

To get to the top of the White Cliffs of Dover was not that hard. It was, in principle, just a matter of walking. Moving one foot in front of the other, up a narrow, romantic path through the green grass. The hardest part was getting to England in the first place. Being a neurotic and booking flights could be problematic. Veronika knew all about that. Because she was a neurotic.