By Lucca Elisa Pedersen Szast, AAU Communication and Public Affairs, Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.
Photo: Martin Johanssen, Gyldendal.

Among the works of author and poet Nanna Storr-Hansen are Lyngtarm and Spektakel. In 2023, she won the Montana Literary Award and the Blixen Award in the Poetry of the Year category for the poetry collection Bøgetid.

Soon she will be the new writer in residence at the Danish programme at Aalborg University.

"Something that keeps popping up in my writing is an interest in the mutual experience and exchange we humans have with our fellow planets - other people, creatures, materials and ecosystems," says Nanna Storr-Hansen and adds:

"I see that reciprocity as absolutely fundamental for all living things, and also as a basic condition in my writing."

Nanna Storr-Hansen has received a two-year working grant from VELUX FONDEN, sponsor of the 'Writer in Residence' initiative that aims to strengthen fiction through collaboration between authors, researchers and students.

Unique insight into authors' practice

The grant from VELUX FONDEN means that Nanna Storr-Hansen will have time and tranquility for contemplation. It is also a valuable contribution to the university's research and teaching when an author moves in. So says Louise Mønster, Associate Professor of Danish.

She explains that the department's authors help teach the students subjects such as creative writing. The students have the opportunity to engage with both the authors' and researchers' approaches to writing.

That way, they also gain unique insight into the authors' practice and understanding of their work and situation.

"Instead of me as a researcher talking about what it means to live as a writer, we include the authors as first-hand perspectives. It makes our environment more vibrant and offers more perspectives," says Louise Mønster.

She adds that the writers in residence are also a great benefit to the research environment which is enriched through discussions and collaborations with the authors.

Poetry and thinking in coexistence

Nanna Storr-Hansen is delighted to be part of a current research environment and is also looking forward to working hours and quietude devoted to her projects.

"It continues to fascinate me how thinking and poetry can coexist, so I am also looking forward to having more opportunity to understand that," says Nanna Storr-Hansen.

In addition, the award-winning author says that she is excited to investigate what the physical move to a new geographical location can do for poetry writing.

Previously, the department has also welcomed authors Gerd Laugesen, René Jean Jensen and Caroline Albertine Minor through the 'Writer in Residence' initiative.