BÓKADAGAR 2026: Panel Discussion with Rithøvundafelag Føroya (The Faroese Writers’ Association)

Writers write for one purpose: to be read. Yet there are growing indications that the desire to read is declining.
Why is it so important that everyone reads – children, young people, adults and older people alike? How does literature affect us as individuals and society as a whole? Does it matter what we read, and does the language we read in make a difference?
These are some of the questions that will be explored in a panel discussion organised by the Faroese Writers’ Association.
Participants Oddfríður Marni Rasmussen will moderate the discussion. He is a teacher at Skúlin á Fløtum and vice-chair of the Faroese Writers’ Association. He is also a writer, translator and editor of Vencil, a Faroese literary journal featuring fiction in Faroese.
Guðrið Reinert Poulsen is a teacher at Skúlin á Argjahamri, where she works actively to encourage children to read. She is also the mother of Olivia and Jóna Reinert Joensen, who host the podcast Ung lesa on Kringvarp Føroya, the Faroese national broadcasting service.
Jens Christian Carlsson works as a teacher at Skúlin á Fløtum and has contributed to various schoolbook publications. He has also published books of his own, including Hugleiðingar av marbakkanum (2023). He is also an avid reader who often returns to books and reads them again.
Birgir Kruse is a cultural communicator and teacher with a postgraduate diploma in communication and education. He has contributed to various schoolbook publications and has been blogging in Faroese under the name Birk for more than 20 years.