MALMÖTXT 13

MALMÖTXT presents the poets Matt Rasmussen (US via Skype), Caspar Eric (DK) and Ingvild Lothe (NO). Open stage during the evening. Host: Ludwig Landström.

Matt Rasmussen (b. 1975) is an American poet who debuted in 2006 with Fingergun but who is best known for his acclaimed and award-winning collection of poetry, Black Aperture from 2013. In the book Rasmussen writes movingly and with humour about his older brother’s suicide. The book is an elegy that maps in slow motion how death’s dark flower bud breaks open and then unavoidably blossoms.

Caspar Eric (b. 1987) is a Danish poet who debuted in 2012 with jegtænkerpådetværelsejegharsometanalogtinternet from AFV Press. In 2014 he published 7/11, a book about being young in 2014, and the protagonist of the book is very reminiscent of the author himself. It is a portrait of a generation and of our digital era, and focuses on identity and love, showing how identity is put at risk in social media. In 2015 he published the long poem “Nike”, in which the author, using his cerebral palsy as a starting point, reflects on what it is like to live with a handicap in today’s society. In 2017 he published Avatar, which consists of eight poems or suites of poems based on various texts, statements or artworks by and about young men who have committed suicide. His latest book Alt hvad du ejer is a narrative about a parenthood that never happened. Caspar Eric has also translated the American authors Mira Gonzalez and Tao Lin into Danish.

Ingvild Lothe (b. 1990) is a Norwegian poet who debuted in 2015 with Litt lyst til å pule, litt lyst til å dø from AFV Press. Published a year later was Hvorfor er jeg så trist når jeg er så søt. The book was translated into Swedish as Varför är jag så ledsen, jag som är så söt (Why am I so sad, I who am so cute) by Carl Lindsten and published by IT-LIT earlier this year. With poems about being impossible, Lothe made a breakthrough in 2016. Her collection of poems is a depiction of her childhood and youth that strives to be 100% honest. The book starts with a depiction of how an eight-year-old girl and her brother pee in the bath water to stay warm and avoid having to get out. Then follows a sarcastic and impassioned story about a good little girl who doesn’t have the strength to keep going. Who trips up. It is poetry about being quiet and still. Hiding herself. Dieting. Getting her period. Shaving her body. Having an abortion. Getting sperm sprayed in her face. Masturbating. Resisting. A poetry collection about growing up in the 2000 era with the Internet’s blue hyperlinks in her blood. Hvorfor er jeg så trist når jeg er så søt has been published in three editions in Norway and praised by both critics and readers throughout the Nordic region.

Admission free but places are limited. Doors open at 6.30.
Co-organiser. MALMÖTXT

MALMÖTXT is an experimental literary platform that combines readings by published authors with an open stage and remote participation (e.g. via Skype). Sometimes there are panel discussions, performances and live poetry composition.