Naja Bjørnsson

I studied Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Copenhagen and specialized in new Syrian war poetry written after 2011. Between 2017-2020, I taught Arabic language and literature at the University of Copenhagen.

As PhD-student I examine everyday war experiences with a special focus on checkpoints. I examine the functions of the checkpoints present in Syrian novels written on, and in, the war years. The project aims to contribute to international research on (body-oriented) war literature, spatiality, and modern Syrian literature.

I am the editor and initiator (2021) of a webpage for Arabic literature in Danish translation: www.arabisklitteratur.dk

I translate Arabic literature into Danish and participate in literary events, as translator, speaker, and organizer. In 2020 the poetry collection "Livet er roligt i vitrineskabet" (الحياة هادئة في الفيترين) by the Syrian poet Hanadi Zarka was published in Copenhagen (Forlaget Harpyie).