Residents Recommend by Beate Heide

This month resident Beate Heide would like to share a place as her recommendation: Longyearbyen Folkebibliotek

I quickly discovered the library in Longyearbyen when I arrived. And what an oasis it's been for me! 

The library is organised so that it invites you to spend time there, and I have grasped that invitation with both hands. There are books, loads of books, books in all forms and shapes and organised so that they I, as a visitor, are always tempted to browse, peek in and be inspired by and not least dream away in them.

The library has good workplaces, good chairs to take a break in and is open longer to everyone with library card. This allows me to work very flexibly. The requirement to take off footwear, and many knots to hang the outerwear is also inviting, creating a feeling of home. Everyone takes their time, and everyone has plenty of time. The librarians are incredibly nice and helpful. They offer help, search the database and answer all my questions as best they can. 

For me, the library is the very heart of my stay here at Artica Svalbard. This is where I work, find inspiration and not least meet people.  Writing is often an incredibly lonely job. Sometimes it’s a fight with the words so that the story makes sense. What looks good in thought, changes shape when it comes down on the screen, and the words wither and become lifeless. This fight, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, means that the text must be rephrased and reformulated several times along the way. Mind you; I am writing for children, and they need a good story to stay focused.

All the writing people I know have very high demands on themselves, and this makes the "inner critic" unfold in full bloom during the writing process.  I am critical of whether it is good enough, whether the story is credible and whether the word choices are correct. During those moments it's nice not to be with yourself, but in the library. A little walk around the room, a trip out to buy coffee or just looking in a book or magazine makes my brain get into a new groove – a clue that can lead me further in the writing process. 

And as a storyteller, yes, I collect impressions of the polar night- the lack of light that I came to experience. I'm sure there will be future stories of the experiences up here. I had never imagined that the darkness would be so complete and filled with all shades of blue. 

And last, but not least, I get inspired by being with another artists- working in a completely different field than me. Artica resident Jessica MacMillan is here exploring the sky and I am exploring the ocean for a project. We physically meet on the earth here in Longyearbyen. That is like an extra treat for me.

Beate Heide was nominated for a residency at Artica in November/December 2021, by our key partner Norsk Pen.