2022
what do you want to be
when you grow up?
I want to be
a white, Norwegian man
White, Norwegian Man is a touching and important book about a subject many experience every day – namely racism. In this poetry collection the author Brynjulf Jung Tjønn depicts his own experiences of racism. Brynjulf Jung Tjønn was adopted from South Korea to Norway as a child and has always noticed that he looks different, as he puts it himself. With the pandemic – and the awareness around racism and Asian hate – he got new and painful perspectives about his own background and upbringing. White, Norwegian Man is about Norway and the racism many ignore, both the hidden type and the visible one. And not to mention the lonely human who hopes for understanding and finding somewhere to feel at home.
Winner of the Critic's Award 2022
Nominated for the Youth Critic's Award 2022
‘What a clenched fist of a book this is! .... Among the most powerful things I’ve read. Everyone should read it.’
‘Poetic protest against racism. ... one poem in particular is so compelling and gripping I think it will remain forever in Norwegian literature ... a wistful, vital and necessary contribution to contemporary literature.’ -
Brynjulf Jung Tjønn
Adrian Nielsen/NORLA
