Litteraturhuset: Litterær VM-salong med knotta først

Norway is in the World Cup! Join us for a real preview of the World Cup – but far from just talk about 3–5–2 and tactical details! In this World Cup lounge, football, literature, seriousness, music and humor meet on almost the same half of the pitch.

What has Jo Nesbo, Kjartan Fløgstad and Lars Saabye Christensen What else do they have in common other than that they all three write very good books? Yes, they are interested in the World Cup and everything that happens around it – and that all three are coming to Skien at the same time. Absolutely true, cross your neck. Talk about a hat trick for Litteraturhuset in Skien . 

Nesbø was a great football talent in Molde before injuries put an end to his career, but his love for the beautiful game never faded. Fløgstad has followed the World Cup from radio, television, stands and back streets since growing up in Sauda, ​​and in 2014 was in Brazil during the World Cup, where he wrote a book with his son Aslak Nore. He is still very interested in the trajectory of the ball – both on the field and in politics, poetry and class struggle, often all at once. Saabye Christensen played a small-time match for Frigg, but when Norway last participated in the World Cup finals in 1998, he wanted to watch all the matches. The question was how to justify all the hours in front of the TV. The answer was to write a collection of poems about the World Cup and Norway – Pasninger – which was published that same autumn. In 2026, the book will be published in a new edition with a bonus poem about Ståle Solbakken’s World Cup team, which will be read for the very first time in Litteraturhuset in Skien .

Therefore: join us for a real World Cup preview – but far from just talk about 3–5–2 and tactical details! In this World Cup lounge, football, literature, seriousness, music and humour meet on almost the same half of the pitch. Here we mostly talk between the passes, between the lines, and try to dribble our way to verbal dream goals and plenty of spoon kicks, together with guests who can write, think, toast and maybe make people laugh a little.

Tonight's conversations revolve around why football means so much, what the sport does to us, and how it keeps popping up in literature. There will be a tribute to World Cup writers Dag Solstad and Jon Michelet, reflections on Norway, Brazil, England and Germany – and the small nations that make the World Cup a commercial drama around the world. There will also be room for talk about villains, FIFA, old heroes and new, culture, Brauten, politics and everything that comes with the ball rolling. 

The music is provided by Onkel Tuka, the quartet that has kept the musical flame alive for over 30 years. Onkel Tuka provides musical wall-to-wall performances both alone and with Jo Nesbø, with promises of "Viking Proff" and perhaps also Jokke's classic "To fulle menn". And when the evening heads towards extra time, Euphoria invites you to pub choir and sing-alongs with velvety sound and a full grandstand atmosphere. 

This could be a pre-World Cup night for everyone who loves football, hates what's happening now, loves clichés, language and stories – or preferably all at the same time. May the prettiest and kindest team win the World Cup. Without VAR. Preferably without Infantino and Trump.

Tonight's team managers: Tom Stalsberg and Stian Johansen

Book sale at Arkaden Norli

Doors open at 6:00 PM

Ticket prices:
Ordinary: 300
Member Litteraturhuset in Skien : 250
Students: 200

Photo:
Jo Nesbø: Jarli & Jordan
Kjartan Fløgstad & Lars Saabye Christensen: Cappelen Damm

Text:
Tom Stalsberg

Tonight's team managers are not sitting still on the bench

Tom Stalsberg has written six books about football, from Messi and Solskjær to the big and small stories of the game, and he has traveled around the lower divisions in England – a journey that resulted in the book Two Donkeys in Blackpool . Former striker with around 150 first-team matches for Eidsvold IF, and still has the same passion – both in poetry and overstepping tricks. He also wrote a World Cup book in 2014 together with Morten Pedersen and the radar pair Dag Solstad and Jon Michelet.

Stian Johansen has written two books about Odds Ballklubb, Dikt om Odd (2011) and Underdoggens Uppercut (2016) . The sun constantly dries up skid marks in his poems, prose and songs. 3 first-team matches, for Kilebygda, Herre and Herkules 2 respectively. Best without shin splints.

Musical accompaniments from the Uncle Tuka Quartet

Onkel Tuka is a superb band from Halden that has held the musical flag high for 30 years. Spellemann winners in country from 2011, with a loyal audience around the country and a rare ability to play both on emotions and on transitions in space. Frontman Håkon Ohlgren writes songs and lyrics with both a sideways glance, warmth and literary excess – like a playmaker with harmonica and pen in the same movement.

They are coming to Skien as a quartet: Håkon Ohlgren on vocals, harmonica and drum kit, Omar Østli on guitar, Kjell Pop on mandolin and Snorre Kopperud on fiddle. Together they will deliver the anthem to the old "Midtbanemannen" and maybe it will also be "To hender". And as I said, for the very first time they are playing together with Jo Nesbø, who has promised the Skiens people the story of "Viking Proff" and Jokke's "To fulle menn", before the referee has time to give the whole hall a yellow card and thank you very much for coming!

Euphoria – tonight's overtime goal in velvety harmony

Euphoria is a choir consisting of around 35 women from Grenland who have sung their way into the hearts of audiences since their inception in 2018. With sold-out concerts, Telemark's first pub choir and an ever-growing grandstand atmosphere around them, they have established themselves as one of the most distinctive musical teams in the region.

Euphoria is known for its velvety and clear sound – as precise as a perfectly struck breakthrough pass. They move elegantly between delicate ballads and powerful power songs, with lyrics and arrangements that are about community, equality and the belief that there should be room for everyone on the field. The choir meets the audience with a modern expression, great presence and a rare ability to get an entire room to sing along.

The team is led by singer and songwriter Ingrid Halle, with solid experience in vocal group music and a master's degree in singing pedagogy and rhythmic choir conducting from RAMA Vocal Center at the Jutland Academy of Music in Aalborg. Under her leadership, Euphoria plays offensively, in unison and fearlessly – always with their eyes up and the audience close at hand.