Stockholm is such a beautiful city. Seriously, a few places can compete with it on a sunny day with a slight drift. It feels so fresh and bright. An when one crosses the bridge to Södermalm´s Götgatan, one ends up feeling underdressed and in urgent need of a haircut. Or maybe it is just my Finnish low self-esteem in relation to the Swedes.
I had a fab dinner with two friends of mine. Both of them journalists, the discussion went from the relations of Finland and Sweden to the role of language. One of them being Finnish and one half-Norwegian, we had quite a good pack for analysing the Strong Old and the Aspiring New of the North. We all shared a passion for language but in the same manner a certain level of frustration due to being limited to a marginal language area. For all of us, if we wish to excel in our own language as journalists, that means that the rest of the world will not be able to judge our creations. But I think it still counts. I would even say that I feel personally some responsibility that my generation would keep the Finnish language alive and would keep twisting and reinventing it.
And after returning to my hotel room, I got a good reminder why good journalism is still needed - in any language. In the complementary Nordic Reach magazine Eva Stenskär has interviewed H&M's Head of Design Margareta van den Bosch. I was really interested until I read the following sentence:
"Stella McCartney is a great designer, too, and Margareta (who happens to be my sister-in-law) has a high regard for her professionalism."
I love the way she just drops the information like it was a funny coincidence. I wonder what Ms van den Bosch's assessment of Stenskär's professionalism would be. I mean just think of it - would you write a critical article on your mother-in-law or uncle?
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3 comments:
Oh, I love Stockholm too. Well, I'm also Finnish, so it might just be the little brother syndrome or something, but evyrything just feels perfect in there.
It really was a fab dinner, thanks a lot for the initiative! How did it go with the panel??
I can assure you, after about six months in Sthlm the little brother syndrome will pass, and you will start to enjoy not caring so much for the haircut or clothes as the Swedes do...
I agree with you, name-dropping is in poor taste, always. I don't know what Ms. Margareta van den Bosch thinks of me as a journalist, since I don't know her, am not related to her, and have never met her. I am not the person who penned the article to begin with, even though my name is attached to it. Mistakes and errors happen all the time (even in the world of publishing). I suppose living with that is part of "coping with the world" in general. Have a good day!
Best,
Eva Stenskär (who is not related to anyone rich, famous, or even mildly interesting).
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