Cross-Nordic Literary Conversation: Balsam Karam, Lasse Raagaard and Mette Moestrup

Cross-Nordic Literary Conversation with Balsam Karam and Lasse Raagaard: Thursday 3 December 2026, 17:00–18:30, Hovedbiblioteket, Copenhagen. Admission is free.

What happens to language when a Swedish and a Danish author together explore grief, love and trauma? Can one write one's way out of loss, and can literature hold what otherwise cannot be explained?

These questions form the starting point for a conversation between Swedish author Balsam Karam, currently known for the novel "Singulariteten", and Danish author Lasse Raagaard, who wrote "Slip". Both works are recent contributions to literature about loss and grief, and in the conversation the authors examine the artistic and thematic connections between the books - including encounters with death, grief work, the break with realism, the aesthetics of trauma, and the way both works reshape time and space.

The authors will read passages from their books aloud, and after the conversation the audience can ask questions. The conversation takes place in Danish and Swedish and is moderated by poet and author Mette Moestrup, member of the Danish Academy.

Balsam Karam (b. 1983) has just had "Singulariteten" translated into Danish by Dina Bodé (Forlaget Korridor). The novel is part of a space trilogy together with "Händelseshorisonten" and "Mörk materia", where astrophysics meets existential themes, and has been described by Information as an "overwhelming treasure trove of grief and class hatred". Lasse Raagaard (b. 1994) debuted with the poetry collection "ssn snnart" and published the novel "Slip" in 2026, which follows a young man's experiences at a centre for acquired brain injury and reaches back to the Stone Age through a time shop. Mette Moestrup (b. 1969) debuted in 1998 with the poetry collection "Tatoveringer" and has since published several acclaimed poetry collections, most recently "Butterfly Nebula", which is nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize 2026.

The event is part of the Cross-Nordic Literary Conversation series, which the Danish Academy and the Main Library started in 2025. Here Nordic authors meet for conversations about their work. It takes place live at Copenhagen's Main Library, 4th floor, Store Scene, and is open to the public with free entry upon registration.