By Naja Marie Aidt, as told to Karoline Markholst and translated by Hazel Evans

Naja Marie Aidt on her latest book

“I’m proud of the scenes in EXERCISES IN DARKNESS that describe the really traumatic experiences my protagonist has been through in her life.

In the book, the protagonist relays these scenes to her therapist who is treating her for PTSD. It’s difficult to write such intense scenes in a verbal, secondhand way so that the reader understands that she’s struggling to speak about something almost unspeakable for her. The details and reactions in the way she tells it have to be really specific – not too much, not too little.

Reflecting on traumatic experiences can feel like looking through a magnifying glass. You remember seemingly insignificant sounds and smells in great detail, while everything else happens quickly and is shocking and confusing.

I spent a lot of time perfecting these scenes, and they turned out just as I hoped. I think they work well. They have the right flow and pace but they’re also genuinely shocking, so the reader can hopefully feel in their own body how it was for the protagonist.”

Naja Marie Aidt on reader reactions

“I was met with some moving reactions while touring with WHEN DEATH TAKES SOMETHING FROM YOU GIVE IT BACK: CARL’S BOOK in the USA. There was one evening at the Strand Bookstore in NYC where many of the audience members cried as I read aloud because a lot of them were grieving for their own loved ones. The room was packed with people, and the atmosphere was very profound and emotional.

Afterwards, people came up to thank me, and I could see in their eyes that the book really meant something to them.

It was important in a different way than if it had been an ‘regular novel.’ It was insanely difficult to write in the wake of my son’s death, but it was so meaningful and worth it because it could be read by people who needed it.

The book has been published in many countries, and I’ve received so many emails and messages from strangers thanking me for it and sharing their own stories. These are the reactions that mean the most to me, although I’m also really happy about getting good reviews.”

Naja Marie Aidt on making art in a country like Denmark

“Denmark is a little country, but we still have a lot of really good music, books, films and visual art deserving of international attention, and in many cases getting it.

This is in part due to the support there is available to use as artists – that we can amongst other things apply for work and travel grants from the Danish Arts Foundation, that we get library book royalties as well as reproduction royalties.

It provides time and peace to create.”

Naja Marie Aidt on drawing inspiration from younger colleagues

“There are so many talented young authors in Denmark. I particularly love Olga Ravn’s books and Fine Gråbøl’s two novels. There are also a lot of talented young poets that I follow closely, like Amina Elmi.

Their energy and freedom of expression – the wildness in their work – excites me. They write entirely as themselves and their voices are original and powerful.

This, among other things, is what characterises good literature.”