Literature for Inclusion

Writing workshops give a voice to those who are rarely heard

Through a unique collaboration between Bergen and Bjørgvin Prison, Betanien DPS, Kirkens Bymisjon and LitFest Bergen, new spaces for expression are being created for people who are rarely heard from.

The aim is to give participants a voice and a stage, while showing how literature can serve as a doorway to life experiences that otherwise are rarely met – from prison inmates and patients with mental illness to minority women with traumatic experiences.

From prison cell to festival stage

In the run-up to the festival in February, Bergen and Bjørgvin Prison are once again organizing writing workshops in collaboration with LitFestBergen. Each year, inmates are invited to write texts on the festival's main theme and later read and discuss them on stage during the festival. Previous themes have been “Rage” and “Truth.” In 2026, the festival theme will be “Betrayal.”

The collaboration between the prisons and the festival has been going on for several years and has given both the audience and the festival management a unique insight into the lives of people far removed from their own.

«Who do we read, who do we listen to? The collaboration we have had with Bergen and Bjørgvin prisons has given all of us ‘on the outside’ an insight into the lives of people we don't usually hear from or about. This is literature about real life», says festival director Teresa Grøtan.

Author, prison librarian, and initiator of the project, Eivind Riise Hauge, says that the writing workshops are offered to people who are in some kind of life crisis, with the aim of contributing to their rehabilitation.

To run the workshops, they bring in external course leaders, says Riise Hauge. So far, they have used established authors such as Maria Navarro Skaranger, Maria Kjos Fonn, and Henning Bergsvåg.

«It has been really nice to work on texts with the inmates. Some have had projects they have been working on for several years and have used the writing workshops to continue with them, while others have used it as a break and to follow small tasks. Or to participate and listen to readings without writing so much themselves», says Maria Kjos Fonn.

«I was particularly impressed by the participants in the women's prison, who worked on texts with a lot of hope and humor, despite their difficult life situations. This was also interesting from a literary perspective—how texts can have a defiant quality that withstands circumstances. A little adrenaline, chaos and joy in storytelling in the men's prison, focus and will to live among the women – both have been wonderful, and a lot of text has come out of it.»

For festival director Teresa Grøtan, the communication from the stage has been a powerful experience.

«The audience interest at these events has been overwhelmingly positive. There is a charged atmosphere in the room, an intense quality. As an audience member, you immediately sense that this means something. It means something to those on stage, but it means something to all of us. It's about the essence of life, especially as it is when it's hard.»

Expansion and greater inclusion

Beginning Autumn 2025, the project will be significantly expanded. For the first time, the writing workshops will also include Betanien DPS, where author, art and expression therapist Hilde Kvalvaag works with psychosis patients, and Kirkens Bymisjon, which through Project Exit works with minority women who have experienced trauma.

At Betanien, writing has long been part of the therapy for some clients with psychosis.

«Clients often choose writing over visual forms of expression, and they say that it helps them become more aware of their own history and strengths», says Kvalvaag.

She recalls how the idea for collaboration with LitfestBergen came about: «It was evening and dark, and we were part of the torch train during the cultural uprising in Bergen, discussing the power of literature. Teresa was interested in hearing how we use writing as therapy for psychosis, and we agreed to collaborate», she says.

«The collaboration with LitFestBergen is a way of showcasing the value of literature and writing in therapy. To quote author Siri Hustvedt, who ran writing workshops with patients for many years, many of the prevailing models in psychiatry fail to capture the almost hidden and beneficial effects that writing can have on patients. Being given this stage by LitFestBergen is a way of demonstrating this. We at Betanien DPS are incredibly grateful that LitFestBergen is such a generous and open festival.»

The workshops at Betanien take place weekly, and throughout the fall, participants will work specifically with the theme of ”betrayal."

«It's clear that working towards standing on a big stage is motivating. The practical effects are perhaps above all improved self-esteem and belief in one's own abilities», says Kvalvaag.

For her, the project is also about challenging how the stories of people with psychotic disorders are told:

«In psychiatry, it is often others who tell your story: the doctor, the psychologist, the nurse. At LitFestBergen, they will tell their own stories, read their own texts, and showcase their artistic strengths. I think it means a lot that someone is interested in their story and invites them onto a stage. You exist in the world. Someone wants to listen.»

Minority women's native languages on stage

Through collaboration with Kirkens Bymisjon and Prosjekt Exit, minority women are given a new arena to express themselves – predominantly  in their own native tongue. The workshop will be led by author Vibeke Koehler, who speaks Arabic, and translator and journalist Signe Prøis, who is fluent in Spanish. The texts will be translated into Norwegian so that the perspectives can be shared with a wider audience during the festival.

«By including the women's native languages and ensuring that these are also communicated in Norwegian, we are opening up an even broader set of perspectives», says Grøtan.

Project Exit works to find physical and creative methods for processing trauma, and the writing workshop will be part of this offering. The plan is to hold six sessions in the Autumn of 2025, with the goal of presenting the results orally or in writing during LitFestBergen in February.

Literature as community and counterforce

For Teresa Grøtan, the expansion of the project is about more than just more partners.

«Literature can open up inner spaces you didn't know you had, and by communicating this, I believe many people can feel a sense of community and belonging, despite all their differences.»

She points out how the writing workshops and the festival together create an arena for freedom of expression in practice—a place where experiences that would otherwise remain invisible are given a place in the public sphere.

Kvalvaag also sees a deeper value in the collaboration: «Literature can actually be a place of healing. It gives me faith that literature is still important and that it can build bridges between people, breaking down the boundaries between us and them.»