Vónbjørt Vang: Svørt orkidé, poems, Forlaget Eksil, 2023. Nominated for the 2025 Nordic Council Literature Prize

Svørt orkidé ('Black Orchid', is translated into English) is Vang’s third poetry collection – and her strongest to date.

The work explores a mother’s grief and worries over a child growing up and choosing their own path – possibly even going astray. It particularly conveys an underlying sense of anxiety and helplessness, the loss of control and connection, as the bond between mother and child changes and diminishes with age. 

The collection focuses on the physicality of the lyrical subject, on the mother as an independent being, who, in her struggle against despondency, worry, and anguish over not being able to help or reach her child, needs bodily strength. In this, a search for duality also emerges – perhaps one that does not exist – a longing to fortify herself while being unable to sever the bond between parent and child. 

A recurring metaphor in the work is the black orchid, symbolising plant life, the therapeutic nature of gardening and soil, while also representing the underworld and the darkness into which the child disappears. This interplay between bodily strength and the therapeutic aspects of gardening extends the aforementioned duality: a search for both independence and connection. Where do the boundaries of our body end, and where does our infiltration into other people’s bodies and existence begin? 

Vang’s work operates on multiple levels of meaning and materiality, interweaving texts, images, and citations from other works into a collage-like form. The use of fragments and visual elements underscores the fractured and searching nature of the mother’s experience – her attempts to find language for the unspeakable. Thus, Svørt orkidé gives voice to the interplay between identity and practice: Who is the mother when the child distances themselves? And who is the author when language falls silent? 

Vónbjørt Vang (born 1974) is an interesting voice on the Faroese literary scene.  She has previously published poems and short stories in books and magazines.

Her first poetry collection, Millumlendingar was published in 2011, followed by Djúpini in 2017. The texts explore deep human relationships, often examining how these are anchored in time and place.

Together with Svørt Orkidé, she published Úr loggbókunum. In a personal, reflective, and poetic manner, they put into words the author’s writing process.