Migratory Birds, Migratory Words

by Endre Harvold Kvangraven, PhD researcher in environmental humanities, University of Stavanger

Klikk her for å lese på norsk

Fall migration is upon us. Birds are headed south, and here in Stavanger we’re at the heart of their westerly migration routes. All at once the woods filled with flocks of Bramblings, while tits and Goldcrests began to gather in mixed flocks for the winter. These past couple of weeks there have been Horned Grebes at Stora Stokkavatn, Grey Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits on the beaches by Brusand, and a range of divers and auks out on the open water.

As the birds are leaving, the exhibition “Fuglar i lyrikken” is coming to Stavanger University Library, showcasing birds in Norwegian poetry. On October 28th, Professor Benedikt Jager will join publishers Eirik Bø and Sebastian Guggolz for “Litterære trekkfugler”, a discussion about literary cultural exchange between Norway and Germany, including the resurgence of interest in Tarjei Vesaas. In November, the library will host a workshop in collaboration with the Greenhouse and EnviroCitizen, where Ann Elisabeth Laksfoss Cardozo will be presenting her findings about citizen science in Norway, and I’ll be discussing the role of birds in modern Norwegian literature. Keynote speakers are soon to be announced.
While Peregrine Falcons and White-tailed Eagles inspire awe and wonder, Ravens and Tawny Owls appear as messengers from the spirit world. Goldfinches, clad in dazzling colours, personify beauty, but captured and caged, they embody only gloom and sorrow. In my research on birds in Nordic literature, I’ve found that a central theme in novels where birds feature is that of care, not only for species, ecosystems and the environment broadly defined, but also for individuals and flocks. From Kjersti Ericsson to Gøhril Gabrielsen, Brit Bildøen, Merethe Lindstrøm, even Karl Ove Knausgård, birds are used to explore themes related to birth and death. Through breeding season and winter feeding, human characters see their personal battles reflected in birds’ struggle to survive.

Another central motif is that of the alienated, neurotic outsider who experiences a deep connection with wild creatures, especially birds. Prime examples are Mattis in Vesaas’ classic The Birds, and his counterpart Knut Hovin in Agnar Lirhus’ recent novel Nå hogger de. Similar characters appear in a range of novels, from Ingvar Ambjørnsen through to Carl Frode Tiller, stories of desperate antiheroes who long for reconciliation but are driven to despair, to flight.

These are some of the topics we’ll be touching on this coming month.

References
Ambjørnsen, Ingvar. 2012. Natten drømmer om dagen. Oslo: Cappelen Damm.
Bildøen, Brit. 2019. Tre vegar til havet. Oslo: Samlaget.
Bildøen, Brit. 2020. Over land og hav : eit år med trekkfuglar. Oslo: Kagge Forlag.
Gabrielsen, Gøhril. 2017. Ankomst. Oslo: Aschehoug.
Knausgård, Karl Ove. 2019. Fuglene under himmelen. With photographs by Stephen Gill.
Oslo: Forlaget Oktober.
Lindstrøm, Merethe. 2019. Fuglenes anatomi. Oslo: Forlaget Oktober.
Lirhus, Agnar. 2020. Nå hogger de. Oslo: Forlaget Oktober.
Ravatn, Agnes. 2013. Fugletribunalet. Oslo: Samlaget.
Tiller, Carl Frode. 2017. Begynnelser. Oslo: Aschehoug.
Vesaas, Tarjei. 2019 (1957). The Birds. Translated by Torbjørn Støverud and Michael
Barnes. London: Penguin Books.