My Gothenburg Writing Residency
By Frances Cannon
What is important to us is finding ways for people working in literature across Edinburgh and Scotland to use our Cities of Literature network to support growth and development. Edinburgh-based writer, Frances Cannon, went out to Gothenburg for a four week residency in the Villa Martinson. You can read below about the benefits of the UNESCO City of Literature residency programme, and her experience in this location.
Keira Brown
Communications
Edinburgh City of Literature Trust
21 April 2025
In the fall of 2024, I traveled to a small, pastoral village called Jonsered, a short train ride outside of Gothenburg, Sweden, to attend a month-long writer’s residency, (made possible through a collaboration between UNESCO Cities of Literature, the University of Gothenburg, and the AIR Literature Västra Götaland, and the Jonsered Foundation).
Location
My home for the month was The Villa Martinson—a house named after the writer and Nobel prize winner Harry Martinson, who spent time in his youth working in the Jonsered factories down the hill. The house held five apartments named after five books by Martinson: Klockrike, Nomad, Cikada, Vagnen and Aniara. Although I was placed in the Cikada apartment, the novel that I chose to read by Martinson during my visit was 'Aniara'—a dreamy, somewhat erotically-charged, book-length sci-fi poem written in 1953. The other residents of the Villa were Sara Hallström, Håkan Westesson, Evelina Valtersson, and Vajna Ádám. As I type their names six months later, I feel nostalgic already—I deeply admire and respect this group of writers, and I wish that I had found more time to get to know each of them. Skipping ahead in my narrative here: towards the end of our month together, the coordinator of the residency, Bengt-Ove Boström, a literature enthusiast and former professor at the University of Gothenburg, organised a wine and cheese gathering in the library at Villa Martinson. Fortunately, all of the resident writers were able to attend, and I felt a strong, impulsive urge to move to Sweden to stay in the orbit of these kind and brilliant writers (most of the other residents lived in or near Gothenburg— Vajna and I were the representative international visitors).
During my visit I enjoyed exploring trails around the Villa, as well as the town of Jonsered, which is now—in my opinion—a hipster microcosm of gourmet food, beer, and shops. I happily spent too much time (and money!) at the bakery in the village, Brödfabriken. The other residents at the Villa Martinson were eager to tell me that the owner of Brödfabriken was a renowned actor, Eric Ericsson, although I’m not familiar with his theatrical fame—I was too focused on the baked goods, which were divine and addictive. Cardamom buns, of course, but also dense sourdough rye bread, toasted nutty granola, and even salads with bitter greens, aged gouda, and little shrimp.
Back to the Trails
My writing and visual arts research circles around botanical, mycological, and biological obsessions such as mushrooms, lichens, mosses, and birds—Jonsered did not disappoint. I painted a few of the lichens and mosses that I observed, and I wandered far up into the hills above the villa, around a lake, and into the wet woods, where to my delight, I found chanterelles and amanita mushrooms straight out of a book of Swedish folklore and magic. Fear not—I didn’t eat the amanitas.
Every other day, I took the train to Gothenburg to explore art museums, the botanical garden, cafes, and even a brewery or two—although admittedly, the best brewery I discovered during my time in the area was more local to my villa—Poppels Bryggeri. I returned several times to visit the Trädgårdsföreningen—the “Garden Society”, where I lingered in the historical palm house, sketching and smelling all the flowers in bloom. On a particularly cold, foggy day, I found my way to a public town sauna in Jubileumsparken—the wood-lined sauna is contained within a modern structure on stilts over a river, like some artsy Baba Yaga sauna-nest for waterbirds.
The Gothenburg House of Literature
I was thrilled to attend the social gathering organised by AIR Literature Västra Götaland at the Goteborgs Litteraturhuset (The Gothenburg House of Literature). The five writers at the Villa Martinson were only a handful within a larger network of writers-in-residence distributed across Sweden at various cultural institutions, including an old train station, several libraries, and an artist coop. This larger group gathered for introductions, a social afternoon coffee (known as a ‘Fika’), and then we all walked together to a fancy catered dinner. I met too many brilliant and alluring authors to list here, Swedish and international authors, and I look forward to hopefully crossing paths with some of these writers again, particularly the other writer in the group from Edinburgh, Katalina Watt.
Reflections
As I continue to write this reflection—I realize that there were too many adventures and connections to include—an exhaustive list would require more time than I currently have—I attended a local theater production; pigged-out on oysters at the Feskekörka (fish market); danced at an indie folk-rock concert at a folk-the music venue Pustervik; and worked on my book projects in the peaceful hilltop Villa Martinson. I will simply say that I was honored to have been selected; I found the opportunity to be productive and inspiring, and I highly recommend any and all writers—emerging and established—to apply for this opportunity. I truly hope to return, soon.
For more on Frances Cannon, you can check her out over on her website.
