Who are we?

Kontradiktion is the only platform in Swedish Finland with a focus on interdisciplinary poetical works. Published works include video poetry, essayistic films, sound art, poetical games, audio dramas, hypertext artworks and more. Kontradiktion rests upon a couple of founding principles, one of them is the importance of connectivity and creativity.

The maiden issue of Kontradiktion was published on October 27th, 2022. Hilda Forss and Jolin Slotte, the magazine’s two founding figures, met for the first time several years prior to that. They quickly bonded over the idea of – and the need for – an elaborated and carefully curated platform for digital, visual and experimental poetry, in large part due to their strong belief in the occurrence of highly skilled Finnish-Swedish and Nordic artists within this field. ”We have the knowledge and a burning interest, so let’s make this happen”, they thought.

A long term aim that lies at the heart of Kontradiktion is to build an accesible archive displaying the manifold expressions of what digital and experimental poetry can look like in the wider Nordic milieu. These are poetical practices that do not merely settle for text on paper or screen, poems whose final manifestation is the written words. On the contrary, all the works published in the Kontradiktion universe go beyond this, they may – for instance – take audiovisual, performative, interactive or multimedial shapes that challenges the concept of a more traditional poetic understanding. You could say that Kontradiktion presents poetry as a way of thinking and acting, rather than just being a matter of form and content.

What is the story?

In June, during the 33rd edition of Hangö Teaterträff, Kontradiktion #5 will be released. It is no coincidence that the release takes place at this kind of festival.

A typical Kontradiktion release event is a combination of poetry readings, performance art and panel discussions, and the extension of Kontradiktion’s presence past conventional literary contexts, such as book fairs and libraries, is a conscious strategy to present Kontradiktion’s poetical perception to new audiences.

In line with the above, another basic principle behind Kontradiktion is the importance of providing meeting places – between artists, between spectators and artists, between the various actors within the poetical communities of the Nordic region – online as well as in the flesh. Exploration and connection are the underlining concepts at work here, along with the publication of high quality digital poetry in an online magazine and during live events.

Up until now, release events with live performances have taken place in Helsinki, Vaasa and Turku (Finland) and in Gothenburg (Sweden). Launches of the next issue will unfold both in Hanko (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden). Plans for future releases and events in Southern Sweden, Denmark and Norway are in the making.

Since its inception, Kontradiktion has initiated ongoing collaborations with the gallery and antiquarian bookstore Laterna Magica in Helsinki and the Ostrobothnian book publisher Ellips Förlag in Vaasa. Other collaborators include Turku Poetry Days/The Book House in Turku, Gothenburg Literature House, The Swedish Ostrobothnian Literary Society, Rönnells Antiquarian Bookstore in Stockholm and Helsinki Book Fair.