Writing from a Country in the Shadows

How does one’s writing develop when the country one comes from is constantly on the brink – of conflict, of control, of new forms of tacit and explicit betrayal? Azerbaijan’s Gunel Movlud, poet, journalist, and city of refuge writer-in-residence, has carried the Nagorno-Karabakh war with her since she was forced to flee her home at the age of 12. Since then, she has used her voice to examine democracy, human rights, gender roles and the authorities’ treatment of minorities and refugees – often at great personal risk.

Movlud’s writing springs from this history: the Soviet era that never quite ended, today’s authoritarian tendencies, and a public sphere where critics are often labelled “enemies of the people”. At the same time, she also writes novels and poetry – a place where her experiences are transformed, magnified, and given new forms. How do you write a country’s traumas into literature? And how does your perspective change when you have to write from exile?

In conversation with journalist Amund Trellevik, we meet Gunel Movlud for a chat about Azerbaijan’s recent history, the aftermath of the conflicts, and how a writer’s work develops when the truth is always in danger of being overlooked, silenced, or misused.

The conversation will be held in Norwegian.