Karl Ove Knausgaard, Conversation, 27 April 2016

Karl Ove Knausgaard joined in conversation with Zadie Smith. This event was part of the Lannan Literary Series.

[@moanilsson3448]

I love his accent. As a Swedish person, hearing a slightly older man speaking English with a Scandinavian accent makes me feel at home somehow, like I am in safe hands.

[@talkdemonic]

Finally an interviewer with the intellect to actually get to the heart of Karl Ove.

[@DarkAngelEU]

She is a writer, so...

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

He is earnest and compelling writer; she is more contrived and aware of the audience.

[@rjmoney9]

two of the greatest modern writers... I am amazed to have stumbled across this...

[@mileslime]

Brilliant interview. I think Zadie Smith, among all the interviewers who have so far sat down with Knausgaard, has been the only one to really get at the heart of what he has done. Example, the question at 10:10.

[@DenianArcoleo]

I'm not so sure. Knausgaard seems to be someone who underwent the fairly standard academic literary training. He talks regulary about being in awe of certain canonical modernist writers like Broch and Joyce etc. But I think the laid out, (now very well-trodden) modernist path led him down a dead end. So he turned back and went somewhere completely different. Somewhere unexpectedly captivating to a lot of readers, like me. Zadie feels to me like a writer still in thrall to that canonical tradition and I feel she is having difficulty coming to terms with what Knausgaard has done.

[@vincentkline5338]

Denian Arcoleo thanks for helping put my vague thoughts into context... Zadie does seem trapped in tradition. A rare talent comes along now and then making a new right way.

[@shanimanduna8514]

Denian Arco I frd

[@MmM-gw3lc]

Exactly my thought Miles. This is the best interview I’ve found with him. And to those of you disagreeing about Zadie, you should listen to her introduction of his reading at this event. From that I think it’s obvious that she fully grasps My Struggle and puts it beautifully to words

[@jugacakarun2832]

@@MmM-gw3lc in Croatia l can read only on english.! I am not very young and forgot english..

[@lavachebeadsman]

I've been hoping someone would put this online! Thanks!

[@JeanRiki]

Glad I watched this now I know what all the fuss is about! Nice to hear two literary minds of my generation speak of the changes to thought and what remains

[@morrisal]

I know I should be focussing on Knausgaard, but damn Zadie is SO incredibly smart....

[@jsd4544]

Note that Zadie's American accent at the very beginning is beyond convincing. I bet she'd be a great actor.

[@dianehammond3753]

Zadie! What good questions! Just what I wanted, except I didn't know. Karl Ove! Ever the thoughtful truthteller. Just what I always wanted, except I didn't know.

[@artieash6671]

It would be helpful; to tell us what book they are talking about.

[@SeaFrothSpaceWave]

Sometimes I wish writers could collaborate like musicians. I imagine the song these two would produce could put me to sleep, or maybe it'd keep me awake.

[@Dovewhite60]

He's calmed down a bit since volume 1, speaking publicly. He is still as transfixing to watch as he is to read. Zadie does a good job here.

[@lucasandrade6121]

That's so true. There's some kind of minimalism in his talking, even in the way he say the words.

[@ferferrairo]

@@lucasandrade6121 and it's so interesting to notice that, seemingly, to compensate for the word minimalism, he gestures a lot. i've watched this interview after having only listened to it the day before (with my screen off), and somehow it only feels complete now.

[@lukasb0]

lol I've been reading and studying Joyce for decades (poorly, apparently) and she casually blew my mind with a single sentence about his work.

[@DarkAngelEU]

You had to study Joyce for years, and then had your mind blown by someone else that all his work revolves around language? You're hopeless...

[@samstewart2158]

get into bricklaying dog

[@jacklu1190]

I stared mostly at Karl Ove's hairstyle, paying little attention to everything else. Let me rewind and see what they actually said in this interview.

[@Dovewhite60]

I know. His hair, however he wears it, is gorgeous.

[@TheSpiritOfTheTimes]

@@Dovewhite60 His looks are surely part of his success, no?

[@mariaelenakunstmann2713]

@@TheSpiritOfTheTimes in a way.

[@lucxl.5796]

He does have very good hair. Something leonine about him, even if he seems reluctant and retiring

[@activeone]

@@TheSpiritOfTheTimes his looks are absolutely a part of his success. If he was overweight and balding, would he have been as successful? Of course not.

[@vaettra1589]

Knausgaard looks really good!

[@brandonpeniuk]

A pain in my heart is splitting from the light.

[@Torgueuere]

Oh, shut up...will'ya...

[@brandonpeniuk]

@@Torgueuere There is no need to be rude please

[@Torgueuere]

@@brandonpeniuk There is no need to be that pressumptuous either.

[@brandonpeniuk]

@@Torgueuere You are just voicing your opinion on poetry when what you are doing doesn't mattrt

[@Torgueuere]

@@brandonpeniuk Whatever...

[@Bob-wi7ti]

Does anyone know the Norwegian writer he refers to? The one wanting to end the book with the reader reading Chinese?

[@zmihi]

I've been wondering about this for weeks, found the name?

[@Jooohanification]

jon fosse?

[@gustavttt4148]

his name is Thure Erik Lund. this writer is the one I most want to read and the one I probably won't ever read at all. Knausgard said he is "untranslatable." has only one book translated, and it was to german. to me it seems like a mixture of Dostoevsky, Guimarães Rosa and Foster Wallace. from what I've read, the man seems to be a genius.

[@Jooohanification]

@@gustavttt4148 ah cool! as a swede I probably could read it in its original norvegian. seems like he is translated to danish as well.

[@gustavttt4148]

@@Jooohanification yeah. I heard from a distant dane relative of mine that norwegian, danish and swedish are somewhat similar in some aspects. he said he can understand the three, maybe they have similarities like us in south america have between spanish and portuguese (the latter being my native language). as I am brazilian, most likely I won't ever read him, as I don't see myself learning any of the scandinavian languages - life is too short, unfortunately. working on my spanish (I can understand and talk well, though I'm not fluent), started french last year and will probably study german or italian after perfecting those two languages. anyway, I have no idea why I'm talking about this. do you have any recommendations of scandinavian literature? I heard Knut Hamsun is great.

[@bestversion8159]

You've never encountered a novelist who thought consciousness was the surface. Are you kidding?

[@Torgueuere]

I was thinking EXACTLY the same....hello? Valery, Gide...actually, Dostofuckingievski started it much before...just to name a few. I think Zadie was only chating...small talk to start the thing. Either that or she has been living under a rock.

[@DarkAngelEU]

@@Torgueuere Considering some of her work, she might. Academic linguists seem to be well educated on one topic, and tend to be completely oblivious to almost everything else. Being oblivious to Symbolism seems odd though...

[@filliere4576]

Remember the "shame" of the emperor without clothes? Knausgaard is the "child" amongst us telling us to view our "emperors" without their clothes. His truths about writing are exciting.

[@DarkAngelEU]

He still creates fiction, so...

[@joeboonmusic4004]

@@DarkAngelEU Calling his work fiction is hardly understanding his work.

[@DarkAngelEU]

@@joeboonmusic4004 I said he still creates fiction, not that all his work is fiction. Comprehensive reading skills have become rare nowadays.

[@joeboonmusic4004]

@@DarkAngelEU Okay, well that's mildly pedantic. You're throughout this comments section being sarcastic and dismissive. From your tiny sentence how am I supposed to gauge that you're not talking about all of his work? I also don't really get your point, how does 'creating fiction' diminish the honesty and truth throughout his writing?

[@DarkAngelEU]

@@joeboonmusic4004 You could 'gauge' what I'm saying by actually reading what I wrote instead of implying meaning to what I wrote. You people are really dense.

[@abooswalehmosafeer173]

"The Moon" Starry Starry Nights. Language,a tyranny for some A Blessing for a few. Musics.

[@PedroRodriguez-dl5yt]

Karl Ove is a good writer, a great writer is Roberto Bolaño.

[@charmreduction]

Bolano? More like Boring-lano

[@immasavagebro2845]

@@charmreduction this was so bad, Holy shit

[@sibyl-lance969]

audience so annoying

[@HomeAtLast501]

At the end of the novel you are at a completely different place. That really needs to be articulated as an insight? Jesus.

[@philchazwill]

I really enjoyed White Teeth, full of humanity, but fuck me Zadie Smith is so boring and overly intellectual here. Despite which I did actually enjoy this interview (as a kind of shame filled literary journey through the grey world of slowly setting concrete).

[@achnix3167]

How overrated can one writer be lol

[@owenclark6487]

Agree, Zadie Smith is awful. Love Knausgaard though

[@pamellajohnstone9711]

Carl surrender to Jesus.

[@trolareca]

He's kind of boring...

[@mcoffely]

No, you.

[@joaov.m.oliveira9903]

He is a writer, not a showman. You have to read him first to engage.

[@santeriruonavaara3108]

Aren't we all, to be honest..

[@Torgueuere]

Absofuckinglutely...

[@Torgueuere]

@@santeriruonavaara3108 Yes we are...