Grethe Fatima Syéd

Grethe Fatima Syéd (born 1 January 1968) is a Norwegian literary scholar, translator and author. She has translated fiction from English, obtained a doctorate with a dissertation on Olav Duun, and published books about the writer Torborg Nedreaas. Her fiction debut was Eventyr for voksne (Fairytales for adults, 2020). In 2019, she was awarded the Klassekampen Neshornet culture prize for her work.

Grethe Fatima Syéd
Grethe Fatima Syéd (2018)
Alma mater	University of Bergen
Occupation	Author, translator, university teacher, academic, essayist
Spouse(s)	Jon Fosse
Awards	Rhinos Price (2019)

Early life and education

Syéd was born in Bergen to a Norwegian mother and a father from India.^[1]

She received a cand. philol. degree in Nordic literature from the University of Bergen in 2001, with the main thesis "And so we don't know what it is!" Dialogicity in Olav Duun's Contemporary. She received her PhD on Olav Duun's texts at the University of Bergen in 2012. The doctoral thesis was titled Merciless care. Love, suicide, art and transcendence in Olav Duun's fictional world.^[2][3]

Career

For many years, Syéd was associated with the University of Bergen,^[4] She later worked as a freelance writer and literary agent. In the period 2018–2023, she was editor for Vidarforlaget's Duun publications.^[5]

Syéd has translated the works of Seamus Heaney, Gertrude Stein, Henry James, Roald Dahl, and others into Norwegian.^[6][7][8]

She is chairman of the board of the Torborg Nedreaas company and a board member of the Olav Duun ring and the Tekstalliansen.^[9]

Personal life

She was married to the writer Jon Fosse from 1993 to 2009, during which time she went by the name Grethe Fosse.^[10][11]

Awards

In 2019, the Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen awarded her their Neshornet cultural prize for her work on Olav Duun.^[12]

References

1. "Elefantlandet". Dag og Tid (in Norwegian Nynorsk).
2. . The wayback machine. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
3. "Nådeløs omsorg. Kjærlighet, selvmord, kunst og overskridelse i Olav Duuns fiksjonsverden" (in Norwegian). Bergen Open Research Archive. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
4. ""Syéd, Grethe Fatima, Olav Duun – the poet of love and death, PhD, dissertation: 16.11.2012". Retrieved 30 November 2021.
5. (in Norwegian). Vidarforlaget. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
6. "Grethe Fatima Syéd". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
7. "Grethe Fatima Syéd" (in Norwegian). Norsk Forfattersentrum. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
8. "Jon Fosse". www.nb.no. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
9. Fonn Hafskor, Magne (September 2018). "Tre dager med Torborg" (in Norwegian). Bergenmagasinet. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
10. Drangsholt, Janne Stigen. "Jon Fosse". Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (in Norwegian). Retrieved 10 October 2023.
11. Fatima Syéd (16 November 2012). "Relentless care. Love, suicide, art and transcendence in Olav Duun's fictional world". (dissertation). University of Bergen.
12. Pedersen, Therese (30 November 2019). "Litterær lunsj med Grethe Fatima Syéd om Olav Duun" (in Norwegian). Bergen Public Library. Retrieved 28 October 2023.