Lucy's Many Lives: Elizabeth Strout and Kjersti Skomsvold

07/07/24 • 57 min

Elizabeth Strout is one of the most distinct voices in contemporary American literature, and beloved by readers and critics alike. Her international breakthrough came with the novel Olive Kitteridge, which earned her the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, and which was later adapted into the award winning mini series of the same name. Since then, she has written four books in her Lucy Barton series; My Name Is Lucy Barton, Anything Is Possible, Oh, William! and Lucy by the Sea.

Her Lucy novels tell stories about exposedness, poverty, grief and childhood trauma, but also about the value of hope, art and love. Lucy grows up in a poor and dysfunctional family in the Illinois countryside and becomes a writer against all odds. Through her village upbringing and different periods in Lucy’s life, the novels depicts her slow awakening as a writer, someone who tells stories, who gives the world meaning through language.

In Strout’s novels and short stories, the great drama unfolds within unassuming everyday life. The emotional lives of ordinary people are portrayed with depth, warmth and complexity, while she simultaneously shows a keen eye for the larger societal structures and systems of which we, consciously or unconsciously, are part.

At the House of Literature, Strout is joined by writer Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold for a conversation about family, community and change.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the House of Literature, Strout is joined by writer Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold for a conversation about family, community and change.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Just Keep Going. Personal lecture by Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout is one of the most distinct voices in contemporary American literature, and beloved by readers and critics alike. She started writing at an early age, but it would take her many years to finally get published. Back then, her mantra was “just keep going”.

This year, Strout’s debut novel, Amy and Isabelle, is finally available in Norwegian (translated by Hilde Rød-Larsen). Her international breakthrough came with the novel Olive Kitteridge, which earned her the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, and which was later adapted into the award-winning mini series of the same name. Since then, she has written four books in her Lucy Barton series; My Name Is Lucy Barton, Anything Is Possible, Lucy by the Sea and Oh, William! – which have earned Strout a reputation of an unafraid and deeply thoughtful writer.

«You can’t write fiction and be careful,» Strout has said. Growing up in a small, rural town with a strict family – similarly to her beloved character Lucy Barton – books were miracles and refuges – places in which she realized she was not alone.

In this personal lecture, Strout will talk about her journey from when she first started to write, and to becoming a published author, highlighting some of the authors and books that have shaped and influenced her along the way, such as Alice Munro, Eudora Welty and Ernest Hemingway. A constant observer of those around her, she will talk about where she finds inspiration for her characters and how she learned to throw caution to the wind.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

My African Reading List: Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela is a Sudanese writer, currently living in Scotland. She is the author of six award winning novels, including The Translator (1999), Bird Summons (2019) and River Spirit (2023), as well as a number of plays and short story collections. Aboulela was the first ever winner of the Caine Prize for Fiction, and an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

This is Leila Aboulela’s reading list:

Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King
Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North

The Wedding of Zein

Naguib Mahfouz, The Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street)

The Thief and the dogs

Ahdaf Soueif, In the Eye of the Sun
Fatin Abbas, Ghost Season
Isabella Hammad, The Parisian

Enter Ghost

In this podcast series the House of Literature in Oslo, Norway invites writers and thinkers to talk about their work, what they read and present their reading list from the African continent and diaspora.

Host in this episode Åshild Lappegård Lahn

Editing and production by the House of Literature

Music by Ibou Cissokho

The House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.