Ellen Nordmark and Nioosha Shams. Aya Kanbar, Hanna Rajs, and Ali Alonzo. Young Swedish poetry is visible and noticeable. Not only through a prolific publication in recent years, but also through new publications, events, and scenes for poetry.
There are very many who are engaged in poetry, there are many active scenes, at the same time as the publishing world is in good vigor with many smaller publishers that publish poetry. It's very fun, says Saga Wallander, poet and editor at Lyrikvännen.
In the spring and summer, the subject has also been debated in the media. Including SvD's notable report on a clique of young and influential, predominantly male, poets in Stockholm and their poetry parties at places like Riche and Café Opera.
Critical
But Ida Mirow, herself a poet who runs the literary online magazine Pralin Magasin, is critical of the image of a new poetry wave.
What upswing and what wave? As I experience it, there are just as many who practice poetry as before. It's rather an upswing in media reporting and the way they report, and which doesn't ask for literature but the lifestyle surrounding the poets, she says.
Ida Mirow also means that there is an imbalance in favor of the male practitioners.
The thing is that when guys do something, it gets more attention than when girls do something they've always done.
But it's still a fact that there has been a kind of gathering around poetry in recent years. A subculture, if you will, where young poets also lift and help each other through self-started publications like Babo and L'amour La Mort.
This group has an important role, I think it's great that they've created spaces where people can publish texts, which is something we all benefit from. Many are afraid of poetry because it can be perceived as elitist and a bit difficult, so it's good that it's made more accessible, says Örebro poet Aya Kanbar, who herself has contributed to Babo's newsletter.
On the net
Social media also contribute to making poetry more accessible to a larger and younger audience. That's what Madeleine Grive, founder of the magazine 20tal, which also runs the poetry scene Akt Ung, means:
I think that when you're looking for your language today, you're inspired by how you write on the internet, she says.
Another common denominator is the status of personal storytelling in society, Saga Wallander means.
It's highly valued and many use poetry as a way to process their lives, I think that's part of the explanation.
Poets being talked about: Ali Alonzo, Aya Kanbar, Ellen Nordmark, Frej Haar, Jonathan Brott, Nioosha Shams, Maria Bodin, Clara Kronhielm, Albin Duvkär.
Publications: Babo, L'amour La Mort, Pralin Magasin.
Scenes: Malmö Txt, Stockholm Poet Society, Ortens bästa poet, Akt Ung.
