Jonas Hassen Khemiri

Jonas Hassen Khemiri (born December 27, 1978) is a Swedish writer.[1]

Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Jonas Hassen Khemiri in August 2014
Born (1978-12-27) 27 December 1978
Stockholm, Sweden
Period2003–
Notable worksMontecore, Invasion!, I Call My Brothers, Everything I Don't Remember
Notable awardsVillage Voice Obie Award (2011), August Prize (2015)
Website
www.khemiri.se

Khemiri is the author of four novels, six plays, and a collection of essays, short stories and plays. His work has been translated into more than 25 languages.[2] He has received the August prize for fiction[3] and a Village Voice Obie Award for best script.[4] In 2017 he became the first Swedish writer to have a short story published in the New Yorker.[5]

Education

Khemiri has studied Literature at Stockholm University and International Economics at Stockholm School of Economics.[6]

Career

Novels

Khemiri's debut novel, Ett öga rött (One Eye Red), was published in 2003. It sold over 200,000 copies in Sweden, was adapted into a movie and became the best-selling novel of any category in 2004.[7]

Khemiri's second novel, Montecore: en unik tiger (Montecore - The Silence of the Tiger), received the Sveriges Radio Award for Best Swedish Novel of 2007. It was a finalist for the August Prize and translated into more than 20 languages.[8] In the US, Montecore was translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles and published by Knopf and the New York Times described the novel as "funny, ambitious and inventive. Also black: rage and tragedy pulse beneath the fireworks."[9] In 2011, the novel was chosen by the critics at Dagens Nyheter as one of the top 10 works of fiction, published in Sweden in 2000–2010.[10]

In 2009 Khemiri released Invasion!, a collection of short stories, essays and plays.

Khemiri's third novel, Jag ringer mina bröder (I Call My Brothers), was published in 2012. It was adapted for television by SVT.[11]

Khemiri's fourth novel, Allt jag inte minns (Everything I Don't Remember) was published in 2015. It became a national best-seller and received Sweden's most prestigious literary award, the August Prize, for best fiction.[12] The novel has been translated into more than 25 languages.[13] Joyce Carol Oates chose it as one of her three favourite books of 2016, calling it "enigmatic" in the Times Literary Supplement.[14] Masha Gessen picked it as her favourite book of 2017 for Politico.[15]

Plays

Khemiri's first play, Invasion!, premiered at the Stockholm City Theatre in 2006.[16] It was chosen for the 2007 Swedish Theater Biennial and has since then been performed in 12 countries.[17] The first US production of Invasion! was produced by the Play Company, and in 2011, the play received a Village Voice Obie Award for best script.[18] It was published in English by Samuel French[19] and in German by Theater Heute.[20] The production at Thalia Theater in Hamburg ran from 2009–2016.[21]

Khemiri's second play Fem gånger Gud (God Times Five) toured Sweden in 2008[22] and the third play, Vi som är hundra (The Hundred We Are), premiered at Gothenburg City Theatre in 2009.[23] In Norway the play won the Hedda Award, Norway's top theatrical award, for best play of 2010.[24]

Apatiska för nybörjare (Apathy for Beginners), Khemiri's fourth play, premiered at the big stage of Folkteatern in Gothenburg in 2011 and has been performed in Italy, Norway and Germany.[25] SVT adapted the play for Swedish television.[26]

In 2013 Khemiri adapted the novel Jag ringer mina bröder (I Call My Brothers) into a play. It toured Sweden with Riksteatern, had a second premier at the Stockholm City Theatre and has been performed in Norway, Denmark, Germany, the UK and Australia. It was published in English by Oberon Books.[27]

Khemiri's latest play, ≈ [ungefär lika med] (≈[Almost Equal To]) premiered at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 2014. In 2015, Khemiri received the Expressen Theatre Prize.[28] The play has been performed in Norway, Denmark, Germany (multiple versions), Iceland, Belgium and the US. It is currently being performed at the Schaubühne in Berlin, and at the Pillsbury House Theatre, in Minneapolis, US.[29][30]

Other writing

Khemiri's story "Unchanged, unending" was originally published in Aftonbladet, and won the Swedish Radio prize for best short story in 2008.[31] Later that year Khemiri met and interviewed the rapper Nas for a portrait in Dagens Nyheter.[32] In 2013 Khemiri started a writing workshop for people who are living or have experienced living as undocumented migrants in Sweden. Texts from three participants of the workshop were published in Swedish by Aftonbladet,[33][34][35] Norwegian by Klassekampen and English by the literary journal Asymptote.[36]

In 2013, Khemiri wrote an open letter to Sweden's Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask in response to a controversial police program, REVA. The letter, titled "Dear Beatrice Ask", started a debate about discrimination and racial profiling in Sweden. Originally published in Dagens Nyheter,[37] the letter became a social media phenomenon, with more than 150 000 shares on Facebook (summer 2014)[38] and more than half a million clicks on the article online.[39] It is one of the most shared articles in Swedish history.[40] According to social media analysts the letter reached more or less every Twitter user in Sweden.[41] The original text was translated into more than 20 languages,[42] and a version of the text was published by the New York Times in April 2013.[43]

In 2017, Khemiri's short story "Så som du hade berättat det för mig (ungefär) om vi hade lärt känna varandra innan du dog" ("As You Would Have Told It to Me (Sort Of) If We Had Known Each Other Before You Died") was published by the New Yorker.[44] Khemiri is the first Swedish writer to publish a short story in the magazine, although it has previously featured poetry by Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer.[45]

Personal life

Khemiri is based in Stockholm. His younger brother is actor Hamadi Khemiri.[46] Through his father, Khemiri is cousin of award-winning performance artist Slim Khezri.

Fiction
  • Ett öga rött (One Eye Red, novel, 2003)
  • Montecore : en unik tiger (Montecore - the Silence of the Tiger, novel, Knopf, 2006)
  • Invasion! : pjäser, noveller, texter (Invasion! Collection of plays, short stories and essays, 2008)
  • Jag ringer mina bröder (I Call My Brothers, novel, 2012)
  • Allt jag inte minns (Everything I Don't Remember, novel, Atria/Scribner 2015), translated by Rachel William-Broyles
  • Så som du hade berättat det för mig (ungefär) om vi hade lärt känna varandra innan du dog (As You Would Have Told It to Me (Sort Of) If We Had Known Each Other Before You Died, short story, the New Yorker, 2017)[47]
  • Pappaklausulen (The Family Clause, 2018), translated by Alice Menzies

Plays
  • Invasion! (Invasion!, 2006)
  • Fem gånger Gud (Five Time God, 2008)
  • Vi som är hundra (The Hundred We Are, 2009)
  • Jag ringer mina bröder (I Call My Brothers, 2013)
  • Apatiska för nybörjare (Apathy for Beginners, 2011)
  • ≈ [ungefär lika med] (≈ [Almost Equal To], 2014)

Awards
  • 2004 Borås Tidning's Prize, best Swedish literary debut for Ett öga rött (One Eye Red)
  • 2006 Per Olov Enquist's Literary Prize for Montecore[48]
  • 2006 VI magazine Literary Prize for Montecore[49]
  • 2006 Sweden Radio Novel Prize for Montecore (2006)
  • 2007 Stipend from the Gerard Bonnier Fund of the Swedish Academy
  • 2007 The Bellman Prize[50]
  • 2008 Swedish Radio's Prize for best Swedish Short Story for "Oändrat oändlig" (2008)[51]
  • 2010 Hedda Award, best play (Norway) for Vi som är hundra (The Hundred We Are)[52]
  • 2010 John Fante Literary Prize (Italy) for Montecore[53]
  • 2011 Village Voice Obie Award (US) for best script: Invasion![54]
  • 2011 Swedish Ibsen Prize for playwriting.[55]
  • 2013 Swedish Library's Aniara Prize for Jag ringer mina bröder (I Call My Brothers)[56]
  • 2015 Expressens Theatre Prize for ≈ [ungefär lika med] (≈[Almost Equal To])[57]
  • 2015 August Prize for Allt jag inte minns (Everything I Don’t Remember)[58]
  • 2017 Premio Strega Europeo Award (Italy), finalist for Allt jag inte minns (Everything I Don’t Remember)[59]

International residencies
  • Ledig House, Hudson, New York (2004)
  • International Residency for Emerging Playwrights at Royal Court, London (2006)
  • DAAD, Writer in Residence, Berlin (2009)

References
  1. Grode, Eric (2011-09-08). "Jonas Hassen Khemiri, the Playwright Behind 'Invasion!'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  2. "Jonas Hassen Khemiri om ordens makt - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  3. "KULTUR: Augustpriset till Khemiri". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  4. Grode, Eric (2011-09-08). "Jonas Hassen Khemiri, the Playwright Behind 'Invasion!'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  5. "Hassen Khemiri publicerad i The New Yorker". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  6. "Jonas Hassen Khemiri: "Jag vill skapa förståelse och förvirring" - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2014-09-18. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  7. "Ett öga rött belönad med pocketpris". HD (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  8. "SR:s romanpris till Khemiri - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  9. Monson, Ander (2011-02-25). "Book Review - Montecore - By Jonas Hassen Khemiri". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  10. "Sara Stridsberg: "Drömfakulteten" är som en gammal passion - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  11. Sweden, Sveriges Television AB, Stockholm. "Jonas Hassen Khemiris Jag ringer mina bröder". svt.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  12. "KULTUR: Augustpriset till Khemiri". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  13. Förlag, Albert Bonniers. "Jonas Hassen Khemiri - Albert Bonniers Förlag". www.albertbonniersforlag.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  14. "Books of the Year 2016 – TheTLS". www.the-tls.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  15. "The Politico 50 Reading List". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  16. "KULTUR: Subversivt". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  17. "I rasismens gränsland". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  18. Grode, Eric (2011-09-08). "Jonas Hassen Khemiri, the Playwright Behind 'Invasion!'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  19. "Invasion!". www.samuelfrench.com. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  20. Theaterverlag, Michael Merschmeier, Der. "Theater heute - Archiv". Der Theaterverlag (in German). Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  21. "Invasion!". Thalia Theater (in German). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  22. "Alla är Jonas". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  23. "Vi som är hundra - Göteborgs Stadsteater". www.stadsteatern.goteborg.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  24. "Vinnere 2010". Heddaprisen. 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  25. Khemiri, Jonas Hassen (2011-08-30). "Apathy for Beginners – Jonas Hassen Khemiri". Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  26. "Apatiska för nybörjare avslutar Riksteaterturné på Folkteatern Göteborg den 27, 28 och 29 mars med efterföljande samtal och turnéavslutningsfest öppen för alla!". Mynewsdesk (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  27. "I Call My Brothers". Oberon Books. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  28. "Teaterknarkaren". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  29. "≈ [approximately equal]". Schaubühne Berlin. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  30. "September 16 - October 22 ≈[ALMOST EQUAL TO] by Jonas Hassen Khemiri at Pillsbury House". AO International. Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  31. Radio, Sveriges. "2008 och 2005 års novellprisvinnarnoveller: Oändrat oändlig och En kniv i ryggen - Radioföljetongen/Radionovellen". Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  32. "Yo Nas - du fick möta Jonas - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  33. "KULTUR: "Jag bad att få låna ett tält för att sova i en park"". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  34. "KULTUR: "Fick en bild på en vallmo – och min hemby i ruiner"". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  35. "KULTUR: "Jag minns hur sadistens händer darrade"". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  36. "I Remember - Asymptote". www.asymptotejournal.com. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  37. "Bästa Beatrice Ask - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  38. "Bästa Beatrice Ask - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  39. "Björn Wiman: Kom ihåg Khemiris ord inför valet - DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  40. ""Bästa beatrice" på väg att slå alla rekord i antal delningar". Ajour. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  41. "A writer who dared a minister to get in his skin". 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  42. "An Open Letter to Beatrice Ask - Asymptote". www.asymptotejournal.com. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  43. Khemiri, Jonas Hassen (2013-04-20). "Opinion | Sweden's Closet Racists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  44. Khemiri, Jonas Hassen (2017-09-18). "As You Would Have Told It to Me (Sort Of) If We Had Known Each Other Before You Died". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  45. "Hassen Khemiri publicerad i The New Yorker". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  46. [email protected], Anna Ångström |. "Jag förklarar mina pjäser när jag spelar". SvD.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  47. Khemiri, Jonas Hassen (2017-09-18). "As You Would Have Told It to Me (Sort Of) If We Had Known Each Other Before You Died". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  48. Linus Larsson, "Khemiri får årets P O Enquist-pris: Årets P O Enquist-pris går till författaren Jonas Hassen Khemiri för såväl 'språklig förnyelseförmåga som modet att gestalta oerhört centrala erfarenheter i dagens svenska samhälle'", Dagens Nyheter 19 May 2006 (in Swedish)
  49. "Vi:s litteraturpristagare 1947-2009", Vi, retrieved 21 February 2011
  50. Eva-Karin Gyllenberg, "Bellmanpriset till Jonas Hassen Khemiri", Dagens Nyheter 2 May 2007 (in Swedish)
  51. "Jonas Hassen Khemiri vann novellpris", Svenska Dagbladet 27 September 2008 (in Swedish)
  52. "2010 | Heddaprisen". Heddaprisen (in Norwegian). Heddaprisen. 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-10-02.CS1 maint: others (link)
  53. "Premio John Fante: Khemiri vince nella categoria 'Autore tra due mondi'", FuturoComune.it 19 July 2010 (in Italian)
  54. Grode, Eric (2011-09-08). "Jonas Hassen Khemiri, the Playwright Behind 'Invasion!'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  55. [email protected], Anna Ångström |. "Hassen Khemiri fick Ibsenpriset". SvD.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  56. "Aniarapriset till Khemiri". SVT Nyheter. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  57. "Teaterknarkaren". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  58. "Fiction Book Review: Everything I Don't Remember by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, trans. from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles. Atria, $25 (272p) ISBN 978-1-5011-3802-7". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  59. "Home". Premio Strega (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
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