BÓKADAGAR 2026: A Conversation with Paula Gaard and Lars Bukdahl

Literary criticism helps shape how we encounter literature in the public sphere. But can critical reading also be considered an art form in its own right? What kind of poetics underpins criticism, and what does it mean to review literature in Nordic literary communities, where circles are often small and everyone knows everyone? What power do literary critics wield, and what distinguishes literary criticism in the Faroe Islands from that in Denmark?
These questions form the starting point for Autor Chap IV, the fourth publication in Autor’s Nordic chapbook series, which explores different literary practices and crafts. In this edition, five critics and literary scholars from across the Nordic region write about the craft, poetics and conditions of literary criticism.
Paula Gaard holds a PhD in literary studies from Fróðskaparsetur Føroya, where she wrote her dissertation on literary criticism in the Faroe Islands. In Autor Chap IV, she contributes At siga fyri fyrstu ferð tað, sum longu er sagt, published in both Faroese and Danish.
Lars Bukdahl is a literary critic and editor who writes, among other publications, for Weekendavisen. His contribution to the publication is titled Kritik er en føljeton.
Forlaget Autor was established in connection with Literary Composition at the University of Gothenburg but is entirely independent of the university, both financially and administratively. Today, the association is run by alumni of Literary Composition and Literary Translation. Its publications include its own series of written works, online texts published under the name Autor Eter, and poetics in the Autor Chap series.
Organiser: Autor