Dear students and faculty members.

Nǚshìmen, xiānshengmen.

Kjære alle sammen!

What a wonderful experience, listening to the readings of Jon Fosse. To hear how different it sounds, in your language and mine.

And yet, so alike.

The tone. The variations and repetitions. The melody of language, of sentences.

What is it about Jon Fosse’s art that touches us so profoundly? How come he is played by actors – and staged by directors – all over the world?

Is there something universal here? Something that resonates with us? A certain kind of humanity?

I do not know.

I read Jon Fosse because of his tranquility.

His plays and his prose give cause for pause.

It represents a quality we perhaps lack in today’s world: The chance to reflect. The chance to appreciate all that is quiet.

All that is still.

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When Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023, it was a source of great pride for us in Norway.

To honor his achievement – and his art – the Norwegian government established an annual Fosse Prize for Translators, with the aim of recognizing those who bring Norwegian literature to the world.

Alongside the prize, the Fosse Lecture was also established. The lecture is held by renowned international luminaries in the literary field, with the purpose of presenting literature as an art form in an international context.

These initiatives underline the importance of literature, translation, exchange and international dialogue.  

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Since Jon Fosse was introduced in China almost twenty years ago, his plays – like Henrik Ibsens plays – are put on your stages every year.

I am truly impressed by your understanding of our “local” poet laureate.

And now you honor him in the most fitting way, by having established the Fosse Studies Center here at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Your initiative is the first of its kind in the world.

I look forward to hearing your perspectives on how staging Fosse resonates in your society, and how his work moves you.

Thank you.