Karolina Ramqvist: 'It was the violent, senseless that drew me in'

Karolina Ramqvist, the recipient of this year's Selma Lagerlöf Prize, described her profound and initially reluctant engagement with the literary world of Selma Lagerlöf. Ramqvist's acceptance speech detailed a "violent, senseless" encounter that drew her in.

"It had never happened before that something I read felt so repulsive, and when I looked down at the book again, I was struck by a terrible realization," Ramqvist stated, reflecting on her first reading experience. This initial repulsion, however, evolved into a deeply influential encounter that shaped her perspective on reading and writing.

Ramqvist's essay, published in SvD, explores the transformative power of literature. She connects with Lagerlöf's Nobel Prize speech question from 1909: "What would have become of me if no one had wanted to know of my books?" Ramqvist suggests that all authors grapple with this fundamental question of purpose and recognition.

Her own journey with Lagerlöf began late, but the first book she read by the author became a touchstone, revisited countless times. This encounter, occurring in the autumn of her first school year at age six, was a pivotal moment. Having eagerly anticipated starting school, where she expected to read, draw, and write with other children, the meeting with Lagerlöf's work provided an unexpected and profound dimension to her early experiences.