Dear literature lovers
It is with great joy and anticipation that I welcome you to the Uppsala International Literature Festival – our ninth celebration of words and ideas. We invite you to join us from 18 to 21 March in exploring the magical world of literature, meeting interesting authors, and wandering into different worlds with an open mind. Our overall goal is to highlight works of high artistic quality and to safeguard freedom of speech as a cornerstone of democracy…
This year’s theme, ‘courage and mobilization’, is a tribute to the cultural workers who take a stand in a Europe unsettled by polarization and authoritarian tendencies. In an era marked by growing nationalism, repression, and political extremism, the important principles of the post-war era—international law and human rights—are being challenged. The festival gives us the opportunity to explore how writers, poets, and intellectuals are responding to these threats; how we can all defend the rights of minorities, protect human dignity, and, through artistic courage, contribute to collective reflection and active resistance.
This year, poetry holds a special place in our hearts. Together, we will explore how language carries traces of movement and history, and how it can be a powerful counterweight to nationalist and exclusionary narratives. In the art of poetry, we find the opportunity to mobilize empathy and intellect—a form of resistance that is vital in Europe today.
We have a special program for schools including conversations with courageous Ukrainian and Palestinian poets who talk about their resistance, as well as a Swedish rap artist who uses sharp lyrics to shed light on social issues. We want you to feel involved in the questions that are asked: How has “the other” been portrayed? What can we learn from the 1930s? What role do and should writers and poets play in our time? Can friendship become a powerful act of progressive practice?
The festival will open with words from the acclaimed American poet Nathalie Diaz and music and word from the beloved singer Lisa Nilsson. Let us enjoy music and voice together, and remind ourselves that both art and commitment are necessary in our common struggle for justice and humanity.
We are deeply grateful to our financial supporters: Uppsala Municipality, the Swedish Arts Council, the Swedish Academy, and Världsklass Uppsala. We are equally grateful to our partners: Uppsala University, Uppsala Art Museum, Uppsala City Library, Litteraturens hus, Författarsällskapet, Reginateatern, Studiefrämjandet i Uppsala län, Uppsala Stadsteater, and Tidskriften Karavan.
Let us work together to create a festival that provokes thoughts, engages hearts, and inspires action. A warm welcome to you all!
Kholod Saghir, Artistic Director & Festival Director
Nobel Translation and Resistance
Date och time: Wednesday March 18, 17.00–17.15
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: Swedish
In 2025, László Krasznahorkai was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his “visionary and powerful authorship that upholds faith in the possibilities of art amidst the horror of destruction.”
Central European Literature as a Mobilizing Force
Date och time: Wednesday March 18, 17.15–18.00
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: Swedish
Central and Eastern Europe has suffered long periods of political oppression and dictatorship over the past century, which has profoundly influenced its literature. This has profoundly influenced its literature. Authors such as Vaclav Havel, Milan Kundera, György Konrád, Imre Kertész, and Andrzej Stasiuk, as well as poets like Wislawa Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz, have dealt with authoritarian regimes, censorship, and persecution in various ways, finding language to articulate what cannot be said publicly.
“The Arab” and the Colonial Narrative
Date och time: Wednesday March 18, 18.15–19.00
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: French with interpretation into Swedish
In the novel The Meursault Investigation (Meursault, contre-enquête), the Algerian author and journalist Kamel Daoud takes on the task of giving Albert Camus’s famous story of a murder in The Stranger a different perspective.
Conversation on Identity, Multilingualism, and Poetic Resistance
Date och time: Thursday March 19 mars, 19.00–20.30
Place: Uppsala Art Museum
Language: The conversation in English, readings in German, French and Swedish
Tickets 80 kr via www.tickster.com
Welcome to a conversation where three poets explore how language bears traces of movement and history, and how poetry can act as a counterforce to nationalist and exclusionary narratives. It addresses poetic expressions that navigate the borders between language, identity, and political action.
Program for High Schools!
Courage and Mobilization in Times of War and Authoritarian Advance
Date, time and place: Friday 20 March, 12.30–13.30, Katedralskolan
Language: English
Free Admission but booking required at kontakt@uppsalalittfest.org
In a time when the world is characterized by war, genocide, political polarization, and the resurgence of authoritarian tendencies, the ideals of the Enlightenment– humanity, democracy, and knowledge – put to the test.
Program for High Schools!
Rap Music
Date och time: Friday March 20, 13.45–14.30
Language: Swedish
Free Admission!
Iman Kalzon Mohamed Abdirizak is known under her stage name Imenella. She was awarded Newcomer of the Year at the Grammis Gala in 2019. She also recently debuted as an author with the autobiographical I Will Be Queen Here, where she recounts difficult childhood memories from fleeing Somalia and growing up in Tensta.
What Can We Learn from the 1930s?
Date och time: Friday 20 March, 17.15–17.30
Place: Humanistic Theatre
Language: English
Tickets via www.tickster.com
The German author, literary critic, and journalist Uwe Wittstock has gained recognition for combining meticulous historical research with a literary style that uses a dramatic, novel-like tone, in his non-fictional narratives. Wittstock is particularly interested in cultural and literary resistance, authorship under political pressure, and what happens to intellectuals in times of crisis.
How Can Literature Mobilize Resistance?
Date och time: Friday March 20, 17.30–18.30
Place: Humanistic Theatre
Language: English
Tickets via www.tickster.com
Literature does not create revolutions—not by itself. But fiction, non-fiction, and poetry can mobilize resistance in several, often subtle, yet powerful ways. Literature, other forms of culture, and our use of language change how people think, feel, and imagine the world.
Festival Celebration Evening
Musical performances and Poetry Reading
Date och time: Friday March 20, 19.30–21.00
Place: Uppsala University Auditorium
Tickets via www.tickster.com
The Curse – Have We Lost the Future?
Date and time: Saturday March 21, 11.15–12.00
Plats: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: Swedish
Karin Pettersson, journalist, editor, and culture chief at Aftonbladet, can now also call herself an author. In the recently released essay book The Curse, a hybrid between memoir, social criticism, and political essay, she reflects on the economic and political shifts in Sweden during the 1990s, the consequences of neoliberalism, and its impact on the present and future.
Autocrats, Nationalists, and the Choices of Intellectuals
Date och time: Saturday March 21, 12.15–13.00
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: German and Swedish – the conversation will be interpreted into Swedish
The German literary critic, cultural journalist, and author Uwe Wittstock gained significant attention with his detailed accounts of what the Nazi takeover meant for authors and intellectuals. His descriptions of the actual events in the books February 33: The Winter of Literature and Marseille 1940: The Flight of German Literature.
Poetry Readings
Date och time: Saturday March 21, 13.00–13.45
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: English, German, Ukrainian and Arabic with translations on screen
Natalie Diaz, USA
Asmaa Azaizeh, Palestina
Uljana Wolf, Tyskland
Ija Kiva, Ukraine
Friendship as Resistance
Date and time: Saturday March 21, 13.45–14:30
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: English
The French philosopher and sociologist Geoffroy de Lagasnerie has written extensively about political powerlessness, the problem of adapting to undemocratic agendas, and “depoliticized” literature. As a somewhat surprising counterbalance, he argues for… friendship.
A Polyphony of Hopelessness, Humanity, and Resistance
Date and time: Saturday March 21, 14.45–15:30
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: Swedish
Andrzej Tichý, is recognized as one of the most important and original authors of his generation. In his six novels, several of which have received awards, his innovative style is often characterized by a mosaic of voices and a poetic handling of language.
Religion as Resistance and Mobilization
Datum och tid: Saturday March 21, 17.00–18.00
Place: Uppsala City Library, Free Admission!
Language: Swedish
Religion is not inherently emancipatory. Burdened by history and current events, it has served to reinforce patriarchal, authoritarian, or nationalist structures (American Christian nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, nationalist Hinduism, or the role of the Orthodox Church in Russia, to name a few).