- The city of literature Gothenburg is much more than just what you will first think of, the Book Fair with its hectic days and nights.

It is conducted all year round with a dedicated literary education work in the city, perhaps more successfully than anywhere else in Sweden, says Horace Engdahl who now lives in Gothenburg.

Yesterday it was announced that Gothenburg, which in the spring sent a report to Unesco, will be able to call itself a world literature city.

The title, which is permanent, means that the city, together with about 250 other cities, will be part of a global network that works together to strengthen literature.

Lifts up the Literature Bank

According to literary critic and academy member Horace Engdahl, the city has given rise to one of the country's most important literary projects.

- Let me mention the fact that the main digital resource for the study of our country's literary heritage has been built up in Gothenburg, namely the Literature Bank.

The Literature Bank is a collaboration between the Swedish Academy, the Royal Library and the Language Bank at the University of Gothenburg and works to make Swedish fiction and other texts available.

Gothenburg is a prominent music city, art city, film city, theater city, opera city.

As in the world cities that are important for the development of literature, it saves souls from provincialism and commercialism and raises the bar, he says.

Do you have a favorite when it comes to Gothenburg depictions in the literature? 

- The introductory part of Jacob Wallenberg's "My son on the galley".

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Kristian Wedel, editor at Göteborgs-Posten and author, lists three books with memorable depictions of Gothenburg.

Photo: TT