Judith Kiros, PhD student in English Literature at Karlstad University, has in short succession been granted two literary awards – Svenska Dagbladets litteraturpris and Mare Kandre-priset – for her poetry book Det Röda Är Det Gränslösa.
– It’s wonderful and very unexpected, says an exuberant Judith Kiros. Poetry is often regarded as inaccessible and very niche, so poetry about a medieval nun is even more niche.
The book was published by Albert Bonniers Förlag and the poems are based on the life of the medieval anchorite (religious hermit) Julian of Norwich, who was born in 1342 and died sometime around 1416. She wrote Revelations of Divine Love, a description of revelations given to her by Jesus, which is usually regarded as the first book in English written by a woman.
The poems in Det Röda Är Det Gränslösa form a dialogue between a modern Swedish narrator and the medieval English mystic.
– I have always liked medieval literature, ever since I took a course at the university many years ago, says Judith Kiros who is also one of the teachers involved in Karlstad University’s new creative writing programme.
– It’s great! As far as I’m concerned, nothing is more exciting than reading. That’s why I write, really. In my poems, I have a dialogue with Othello and Julian of Norwich, and it’s very exciting to see how the students in the course read and how they respond in their texts. People have such fascinating ideas!
Det Röda Är Det Gränslösa has been praised by critics. In November it was awarded Svenska Dagbladets litteraturpris, and in December it also received Mare Kandre-priset at the international poetry festival in Stockholm. The book was also nominated for the award Årets diktsamling at Prisma litteraturpris in December.
Judith Kiros is a journalist and author, as well as translator and critic. Her debut was with the book O in 2019, which was a mixture of poetry and essay, was nominated for several awards – Sveriges Radios lyrikpris, Borås Tidnings debutantpris and Författarförbundets Katapultpris.
She is also a PhD student at Karlstad University, where she is a part of the Research Group for Culture Studies, KuFo. Her dissertation focuses on black British poetry from the 1970s to the 2010s, from the perspective of Jacques Derrida’s concept “hauntology”. Through close readings of Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jackie Kay and Robin Robertson, as well as the younger poets Kayo Chingonyi and Jay Bernard, Judith Kiros explores the idea of the black diaspora’s view of the poetics of hauntings.
Apart from conducting research, she is also one of the teachers involved in Karlstad University’s brand new one-year creative writing programme.
