Minister Counsellor of the Norwegian Embassy Tom Knappskog (right) attends the Norwegian Literature Night on June 28. Photo: Courtesy of Norwegian Embassy in Beijing

The Norwegian Embassy in Beijing hosted a Norwegian Literature Night focusing on women's voices in Norwegian literature and discussions about the importance of women's literature on June 28. Tom Knappskog, Minister Counsellor at the Norwegian Embassy attended the event and gave a speech.

Knappskog said that, "We have organized this Norwegian Literature Night together with our Norwegian partner NORLA and partners in China tonight to introduce the unique and important literary voices from Norway to Chinese readers, to open up discussions on important topics, and to promote the excellent work of our Chinese publishing friends. They build bridges between different cultures with the power of words. This year we put the spotlight on female voices in our literature - as equal opportunities have always been placed high on our agenda and are dear to our hearts." 

"We wouldn't be talking about world literature without the hard work of the translators. Over the years, we have had the pleasure of seeing more and more Norwegian books from different genres being brought to Chinese readers," he added. 

Andrine Pollen, a representative from NORLA - the Norwegian Literature Aboard - also took part in the event via video link from Kløfta in Norway, along with two talented Chinese translators, Shen Yunlu and Li Jingjing also via video link from Norway, to share their work and their impressions of Norwegian contemporary literature.