Judith Kiros, PhD student in English Literature at Karlstad University, has been awarded Sveriges Radios Lyrikpris 2024 for her poetry book “Det röda är det gränslösa”.
– It means a lot to me, says a very happy Judith Kiros.
This is the third literary award that Judith Kiros has received in short succession for her poetry book. At the end of last year, she was awarded both Svenska Dagbladets litteraturpris and Mare Kandrepriset.
Sveriges Radios Lyrikpris has been awarded since 1958. It is the oldest poetry prize in Sweden and subsequently one of the most reputable.
– Of course, it feels very special to be awarded this prize and to know that the book has communicated something meaningful to people who have read it. It means a lot to me, says Judith Kiros when we talk to her in the evening following the announcement.
Here is the jury’s statement: “A visionary fury flows over the pages as medieval legends of saints are interwoven with a recognisable everyday life in Judith Kiros’ ‘Det röda är det gränslösa’. With bitterness, humour and brilliance, she evokes a contemporary world and timelessness that flickers with both light and darkness.”
– Beautiful words! The book is very much about isolation, about depression, about hopelessness. But I still imagine there is something in the incurable hopelessness that can also appeal to people. At the same time as we live in an era characterised by optimism or frenzy around optimism, says Judith Kiros to Sveriges Radio following the announcement on Thursday afternoon.
She also said that any celebration would have to wait until the evening since she is busy writing on her doctoral thesis. Judith Kiros is a PhD student at Karlstad University, where she is a part of the Research Group for Culture Studies, KuFo. Her thesis project focuses on black British poetry from the 1970s to the 2010s and explores the idea of the black diaspora’s view of the poetics of hauntings through close readings of a number of poets.
In addition to conducting research, she also teaches a new, 1-year course in creative writing, which is offered at Karlstad University for the first time this year.
You can find a longer interview with Judith Kiros from December last year:
