Debora H. Kleist

With Sarsuatitat (“The Stream of Life”, not translated into English), Debora H. Kleist has created a literary work of high artistic quality which, with linguistic precision and poetic force, explores humanity’s connection to nature, time, and community. The work situates itself within a Nordic literary tradition in which landscape, memory, and identity are closely interwoven, while at the same time contributing a distinctive personal and cultural perspective.

Through a sensuous and rhythmic language, Kleist succeeds in portraying life as a continuous movement – a stream in which individual experiences, collective histories, and the voices of generations flow together. The text balances the intimate and the universal, allowing space for both calm and intensity. This linguistic openness invites the reader to engage in reflection and recognition without restricting the meaning.

Sarsuatitat thematises the relationship between human beings and their surroundings in a way that is both universal and also deeply rooted in a local context. The work makes a significant contribution to Nordic literature by giving voice to experiences that often lie at the margins of the dominant narrative, and by doing so with great literary authority and aesthetic awareness.

Debora H. Kleist’s work is modern, necessary, and moving. Sarsuatitat is a literary contribution that not only reflects life, but also expands our understanding of it – and is therefore an exceptionally worthy candidate for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

Debora H. Kleist was born in 1989 in Qaqortoq and made her literary debut in 2024 with the novel Sarsuatitat. Her short story Olieeventyret from the short story collection Allatta! 2040, published in 2015, was read aloud during Nordic Library Week in 2016, and the collection was selected as a White Raven book in 2016. This is the first time she has been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. In addition to her work as an author, she is trained as a geologist.