Norway House opens lending library

Connecting through literature

Photo courtesy of Norway House
Norway House’s new lending library was made possible by contributions from Graywolf Press, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Borton Overseas, and Norway House programming staff.

Norway House
Minneapolis, Minn.

The bookshelves at Norway House are now filled with literature featuring Nordic, Nordic-American, and Minnesotan authors. The lending library at Norway House furthers the organization’s mission to connect the United States to contemporary Norway—in this case, through engaging literature.

The collection features a variety of genres and hot titles by the premier nonprofit publisher of Nordic books and poetry in translation in the United States, Graywolf Press, as well as contributions from the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Borton Overseas, and Norway House’s programming staff and teachers.

The lending library will announce featured reads throughout the year, with Norway House staff leading discussions related to each of the featured reads. The first featured reads (posted at www.norwayhouse.org/lending-library) are The Laughing Policeman, the fourth novel in the Martin Beck mystery series by Swedish crime duo Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, courtesy of Max Stevenson; Before I Burn by Norwegian author Gaute Heivoll, a novel of suspicion and panic based on the true story of Norway’s most dramatic arson case, courtesy of Graywolf Press; and a collection of Asbjørnsen and Moe’s Norwegian folk tales, courtesy of Kari Tauring. These folk tales have been acclaimed for their richness of humor, fullness of life, and depth of understanding since they first appeared in translation more than 100 years ago.

To learn more about Norway House, visit www.norwayhouse.org.

This article originally appeared in the July 12, 2019, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.