In this final bonus episode of How to Proceed, Linn Ullmann talks about how the idea for this podcast started, and her thoughts one year later. Emmanuel Carrere's final question to the readers, "Are you happy? And do you think it is important to be happy?", made Ullmann think of one of her favorite poems, Having it Out with Melancholy by Jane Kenyo…

In this episode, the French writer Emmanuel Carrère talks to Linn Ullmann about depression and how to write about something that can´t really be put into words, the question of form and truth, right and wrong and writing about the self and others. He also talks about his love for ghost stories, poetry and the gospels - "Christianity," he says, "is …

In this bonus episode, Anne Carson reads her poem "We Need To Talk", inspired by a dance choreographed by Dimitris Papaioannou. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the first time in the How to Proceed podcast, we have not only one guest, but two! Namely poet and classicist Anne Carson and her partner and collaborator, Robert Currie. Together, they talk to guest moderator John Freeman about translating words into other forms, about love, about the color red - and green, and about the strangeness of working…

Listen to Rachel Cusk reading an excerpt from her 2012 memoir Aftermath. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Cusk talks to Kjersti Skomsvold about writing her memoirs and the Outline trilogy, and her upcoming novel Second place. She also talks about form and truth, change and repetition, the feminine personal and writing without felling like a writer. Read more about Cusk, Skomsvold and everything they talked about in our show notes for this episod…

In this episode, the Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat talks to our guest interviewer, writer and editor John Freeman, about mourning and death, about birds and migration, about literary ancestors - and Toni Morrison. Read more about Danticat, Freeman and everything they talked about in our show notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy …

Listen to Deborah Levy read, first an excerpt from her memoir The Cost of Living, and then an excerpt from Swimming Home. Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarssønn Langhoff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest in this episode is the British writer Deborah Levy. She talks to Linn Ullmann about living and writing in lock-down, about intimacy and formality, the personal and political, and how “The “I” is always a we. She also talks about mothers, swimming and how it takes someone leaving to understand them better. Be sure to check out our show not…

Listen to the French writer Édouard Louis read a short excerpt from his latest book, Who Killed My Father? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest in this episode is the French writer Édouard Louis. He talks about writing for your enemies, Black Lives Matter, Toni Morrison and ghosts at the table. Read more in our show notes here. Talking to Louis is the British writer Nadifa Mohamed, one of three guest interviewers as Linn Ullmann takes some time off to finish her novel. You can re…

Listen to the German author Jenny Erpenbeck reading an excerpt from her novel End of Days (translated into English by Susan Bernofsky). Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarssønn Langhoff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest in this episode is the German writer Jenny Erpenbeck. She talks about hope and despair, time and empathy, writing routines, refugees, and the importance of things. Read more in our show notes here. Talking to Erpenbeck is the Norwegian writer Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold, one of three guest interviewers as Linn Ullmann takes some time of…

Listen to the Canadian poet Moez Surani reading three poems: "Best Decisions of my Life So Far", "Lullaby for a Waning Empire" and "The Day We Lay in Bed Like John & Yoko", all from his latest poetry collection, Are the Rivers in Your Poems Real? Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarssønn Langhoff. Hosted on Acast. See acas…

In this episode is the Canadian poet Moez Surani talks about the violence of language, about identity, and the distance between where we are and where we belong. And about happiness. Talking to Surani is the award-winning Norwegian writer Eivind Hofstad Evjemo, one of three guest interviewers as Linn Ullmann takes some time off to finish her novel.…

The pandemic is a portal between one world and another, an opportunity to image another world, says the award-winning Indian author Arundhati Roy. In this episode, Roy talks about fathers, fascism, beauty, love, and the search for words. Talking to Roy is the critically acclaimed British-Somali author Nadifa Mohamed, the first of three guest interv…

Listen to the American poet Mary Ruefle read three short texts, Self-Criticism, Personalia and grey sadness. All from her book My Private Property. Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarssønn Langhoff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a globally out of control situation, says Mary Ruefle. In this epsiode she talks about reading and writing, about clarity and fear, about menopause and the freedom of invisibility, and about being in the margins. And of course about dogs. Be sure to check out our show notes for this episode, including some of Mary Ruefle's erasure poetry, r…

George Saunders reads an excerpt from his New Yorker essay “Trump Days” and another excerpt from his critically acclaimed novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarssønn Langhoff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is literature a political force? Yes, says George Saunders. In this episode, he talks about Trump, civility and the public discourse of our time. On Kindness and Meanness. On form and revision. Voice, memory and empathy, and of course about the living and the dead. Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarssønn Langhoff. Be sur…

Linn Ullmann talks to the American author Joyce Carol Oates about memories and loss, about «bearing witness» through literature, about her mother and grandmother, about the US today, about writing, failure – and boxing. Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarssønn Langhoff. This episode was made possible in collaboration with…

Linn Ullmann talks to the American poet Terrance Hayes about poetry in the time of pandemics and Trump, about intimacy and vulnerability, about his obsession with time, form and order, and about poetry as both weapon and refuge. Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarsønn Langhoff. The signal between Oslo and New York is unfo…

Linn Ullmann talks to Ali Smith about her seasonal quartet, about hope and despair, language and form, Shakespeare and writing companions, and about why migration is the story of our time. Plus we get a very first sneak peek into the forthcoming Summer. Music by Kingocito and Sandra Kolstad. Artwork by Julius Vidarsønn Langhoff. Check out our show …

Welcome to How To Proceed with Linn Ullmann! In this introductory episode, author Linn Ullmann and artistic director at the House of Literature in Oslo, Linn Rottem, discuss how this podcast came about, the importance of literary dialogue and what you can expect — and who you will meet — in the upcoming episodes. Subscribe and tune in! Hosted on Ac…