It was 2018, and suddenly everyone was talking about Jana Kippo, the main character in Karin Smirnoff’s critically acclaimed, August Prize-nominated, film-adapted, and Royal Dramatic Theatre-staged masterpiece Jag for ner till bror. Today, the whole world knows who Karin Smirnoff is, ever since she took on the heavy mantle of continuing the Millennium series. When we call her, she’s sitting in her car outside her home village of Hertsånger, on her way home to her computer and the next manuscript, after having dropped off her grandchild at preschool.
What is your relationship to glasses?
– A very uncomplicated one. I use reading glasses and don’t think about design at all - I just buy the first pair I find at OKQ8 or Rusta for 25 kronor, because I don’t want to spend more. Somehow, I always manage to lose them anyway.
The word we chose for your frame is "silence." What does silence mean to you?
– For me, silence is something I seek. A pleasure. Silence is something that occurs between people, and it can be absolutely wonderful. Being silent together indicates a depth in the relationship, or an understanding that you don’t need to feel nervous.
There’s a common belief that people from Norrland are quieter than other Swedes. What are your thoughts on that?
– I don’t think people in northern Sweden are quiet, nor do I think it defines the culture at all. It’s one thing not to talk when you have nothing to say. Where I live, in Hertsånger, there are few residents, and it’s generally fairly quiet - just like in any rural area where the soundscape isn’t shaped by lots of vehicles and people. But I think people around here are generally social and unafraid.
But the myth still exists?
– Yes, but the idea that people from Norrland are quiet is a myth created by city folks. The language they speak is different, and what happens is simply a clash of languages. Perhaps people who speak with a strong dialect become a bit quieter than usual because they suspect the person they’re speaking to won’t understand them. I’m talking about way back, around the time of the school reform when we were all forced to speak standardized Swedish. And of course, people in cities are more proactive and have to be - they’re competing with more people.
Where do you find the ultimate silence?
– My partner is from Malå, and we usually go to a lake nearby that lies in absolute stillness and silence. It’s fascinatingly quiet, not a single sound, and it’s such a luxury to spend time in an environment like that.
