Karl Ove’s Struggle

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I’m reading ‘Some Rain Must Fall’ by my fellow countryman and memoirist  Karl Ove Knugsgaard at the moment.

It starts with his student year at the Writing Academy in Bergen. The same year I studied Graphic Design in Stavanger. This is the 5th book and his writing, which dazzled me from the start, hugely improves with each book. I feel like I’m growing as a writer with him. I started with the first book in his ‘My Struggle’ series, which I don’t necessarily think have to be read in chronological order. I couldn’t get book 3 but didn’t feel I had missed anything when I read book 4, which was the book I read on The Captain’s Island.

In ‘Some Rain Will Fall,’ which I’m reading now, he writes about going real deep, in our self, to get to the gold of our writing. He’s the youngest in the class and the first lesson is poetry. He doesn’t have a clew about poetry and gets so pissed off when the teacher rips his poem apart, leaving him with just one word. He goes home and writes a ton of typed pages with just the word ‘cunt’ repeated over and over. He does the same thing in the book, repeating it over and over, I had to scrawl down through it. I’m reading on my iPad by the way, in case anyone’s wondering. He prides himself on his radical thinking and is adamant he will hand in the poem the following day. Until his friend persuades him otherwise that is.

Karl Ove is definitely showing me more of the art of writing, his books are an inspiration.  I am so grateful I have the time to read a lot. For me, reading is the nebular of writing. I once listened to the advice of one of the life coach gurus who said to stop reading, when you write a book, or what you read will seep into your writing. It felt awfully regimented and quiet after a while so I went back to reading, and I have to say I’m very happy for  Karl Ove, and many more juicy authors, to seep into my writing. 

Much Love and Light

Vig ❤

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