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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Why you will have to wait 89 years to read Amitav Ghosh's next book
It will not be read this year, or this decade, or even this century. Amitav Ghosh's next work will remain locked in a room in Oslo until the year 2114. It joins a growing collection of sealed manuscripts by internationally acclaimed writers, including Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale) and Han Kang (The Vegetarian), which are part of a 100-year artwork Framtidsbiblioteket (Future Library) for the city of Oslo in Norway, a project in which words and trees grow together toward an audience not yet born. The 68-year-old Indian novelist, whose works have traced the histories of empire, migration, and ecological change, was announced as the 12th author to join the century-long literary time capsule founded by Scottish artist Katie Paterson. His yet-untitled work will be printed on paper milled from the very trees planted for the project in Nordmarka, a forest on the northern edge of the Norwegian capital city. Until then, it will remain locked away in Oslo's main public library, unread. According to the Trust, Ghosh was chosen 'for his deeply resonant literary voice and his longstanding engagement with themes of ecology, history, and time.' For Ghosh, whose recent books have wrestled with the climate crisis and humanity's long view of history, the project's premise feels like a natural extension of his concerns. 'The Future Library compels us to think beyond our lifetimes, to imagine readers who have not yet been born. It is particularly significant for me that the project has a forest at its core, because for a long time now, I have been writing about a forest, albeit of an entirely different kind: the great mangrove forest known as the Sundarban,' he said in a statement. 'To be invited to participate in the Future Library project is both a profound honor and a humbling act of trust,' Ghosh said, adding, 'It will be an exciting challenge to make a connection between the forests of the far north and those of the tropics, at this time of extreme planetary crisis. I am moved to be part of a work that intertwines ecology, literature, and patience on such a monumental scale.' The Future Library began in 2014, when Paterson planted 1,000 Norwegian spruce trees in Nordmarka. The seedlings, chosen from the forest's own genetic stock, were sealed in wax to protect against pests. A century later, they would be cut down and pulped for paper. By then, the library will hold 100 manuscripts, one added each year by an invited author, the only limit being that the work must remain unpublished and unread until the grand unveiling. 'It's like a relay across time,' Paterson said in an interview, 'with each writer passing the baton to someone they'll never meet.' The manuscripts are kept in 'The Silent Room' at Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo's sleek waterfront library. Visitors may enter, but cannot open the sealed boxes. Only the author's name, title, and year of contribution are visible. The project's first contributor was Margaret Atwood in 2014. She likened the invitation to being asked for a kidney by a family member: 'You either say yes or no immediately.' She said yes. In the decade since, the roster has grown to include David Mitchell, Sjón, Elif Shafak, Han Kang, Karl Ove Knausgård, Ocean Vuong, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Judith Schalansky, and Valeria Luiselli. Each book represents a moment in time, chosen by the Trust that seeks to capture the diversity, urgencies, and preoccupations of each passing year. In this way, the Future Library can be seen as an artwork, a slow-growing portrait of a century's thought. A post shared by Future Library (@futurelibraryno) Ghosh's inclusion is especially resonant for a project rooted in ecology. In novels such as The Hungry Tide and Gun Island, and in nonfiction such as The Great Derangement, he has argued that literature must grapple more directly with environmental catastrophe. The Future Library's century-long arc is a rare instance of an artistic form adopting the same temporal scale as the planetary systems it invokes. Paterson is careful to say that the Future Library is not a work of activism per se. 'It's not a directly environmental statement,' she has explained, 'but it involves ecology, the interconnectedness of things — those living now and still to come.' The optimism here is almost radical. A hundred years is a long time in an era when political decisions are made in election cycles and media narratives turn over in days. To succeed, the project assumes not only that humanity will survive into 2114, but that Oslo will still exist, that forests will remain, and that the printed book will still be an intelligible and valued object. When Atwood contributed her manuscript, she wondered in her accompanying essay, which is available on the website: 'Will there be a 'Norway'? Will there be a 'forest'? Will there be a 'library'?' It is, she concluded, 'hopeful to believe' that all of these will endure. For most art, completion coincides with public reception. Here, the act of creation is severed from its audience by the length of a lifetime. Paterson herself will not see the anthology printed. 'It is important that I do not see it fully realised,' she has said. 'It is a work conceived for an unknown, future generation.' For the authors, the act of writing becomes a kind of message in a bottle, except the bottle is an entire forest, and the message will wash ashore not in years, but in eras. 'You are writing for readers whose language might have shifted, whose world will be alien to you,' David Mitchell said when he submitted his contribution in 2015. 'It's the opposite of topical.' Ghosh's manuscript will sit in its box for 89 years. By the time it is opened, the geopolitical maps, the coastlines, and perhaps even the climate will have altered beyond recognition. It may read as prophecy, anachronism, or something in between. For those who want to see the project in its infancy, the Future Library forest is open to visitors. From the metro stop at Frognerseteren, it is a 30-minute hike along marked trails. The geo-coordinates — 59°59'10.8″N 10°41'48.7″E — are public. It is, perhaps, the most unusual library in the world with no catalog to browse, no shelves to scan, no books to check out. Just the promise that somewhere between the trees, a century's worth of words is waiting.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Next manuscript by Amitav Ghosh to be kept sealed for 89 years
The next manuscript by Indian writer Amitav Ghosh will not be read for 89 years, as he becomes the 12th author to contribute to the Future Library project. Ghosh joins Margaret Atwood, Han Kang, Ocean Vuong and other prominent authors who have written secret manuscripts, which are locked away until 2114. The texts are stored in a specifically designed silent room in the Deichman Bjørvika building at the public library in Oslo. At the end of the project, the full anthology of texts will be printed using paper made from trees from the Future Library forest in Nordmarka, in northern Oslo, where 1,000 spruce trees were planted by Katie Paterson, the artist behind the project, in 2014. Ghosh, whose novels include The Circle of Reason and Sea of Poppies, said being invited to participate in the Future Library project was a 'profound honour and a humbling act of trust'. The initiative 'compels us to think beyond our lifetimes, to imagine readers who have not yet been born'. 'It is particularly significant for me that the project has a forest at its core,' he added, 'because for a long time now, I have been writing about a forest, albeit of an entirely different kind – the great mangrove forest known as the Sundarban.' Stretching across the Ganges delta, the Sundarbans are the backdrop to Ghosh's novels The Hungry Tide, Jungle Nama and Gun Island. 'It will be an exciting challenge to make a connection between the forests of the far north and those of the tropics, at this time of extreme planetary crisis,' added Ghosh, whose works often address climate disaster. 'I am moved to be part of a work that intertwines ecology, literature and patience on such a monumental scale.' Ghosh grew up in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and has a doctorate in social anthropology from the University of Oxford. He has written a number of novels, as well as works of nonfiction and essay collections. Ghosh's writing 'is expansive, urgent, and deeply attuned to the shifting ground of our world', said Paterson. 'His stories traverse oceans and centuries, revealing how the climate crisis is inseparable from histories of empire, migration and myth.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion 'With a rare ability to weave the intimate with the planetary, the visible with the invisible, Ghosh gives voice to the forces – human and more-than-human – that shape our shared future,' she added. Ghosh will submit his manuscript at a ceremony in the Future Library forest in May or June 2026, when the work's title will be revealed. Along with Atwood, Han and Vuong, other writers to have contributed to the project include David Mitchell, Sjón, Elif Shafak, Karl Ove Knausgård, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Judith Schalansky, Valeria Luiselli and, most recently, Tommy Orange. In June 2022, the City of Oslo signed an agreement which ensures the forest remains in the hands of the Future Library Trust for the duration of the project.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Next manuscript by Amitav Ghosh to be kept sealed for 89 years
The next manuscript by Indian writer Amitav Ghosh will not be read for 89 years, as he becomes the 12th author to contribute to the Future Library project. Ghosh joins Margaret Atwood, Han Kang, Ocean Vuong and other prominent authors who have written secret manuscripts, which are locked away until 2114. The texts are stored in a specifically designed silent room in the Deichman Bjørvika building at the public library in Oslo. At the end of the project, the full anthology of texts will be printed using paper made from trees from the Future Library forest in Nordmarka, in northern Oslo, where 1,000 spruce trees were planted by Katie Paterson, the artist behind the project, in 2014. Ghosh, whose novels include The Circle of Reason and Sea of Poppies, said being invited to participate in the Future Library project was a 'profound honour and a humbling act of trust'. The initiative 'compels us to think beyond our lifetimes, to imagine readers who have not yet been born'. 'It is particularly significant for me that the project has a forest at its core', he added, 'because for a long time now, I have been writing about a forest, albeit of an entirely different kind – the great mangrove forest known as the Sundarban'. Stretching across the Ganges delta, the Sundarbans are the backdrop to Ghosh's novels The Hungry Tide, Jungle Nama and Gun Island. 'It will be an exciting challenge to make a connection between the forests of the far north and those of the tropics, at this time of extreme planetary crisis,' added Ghosh, whose works often address climate disaster. 'I am moved to be part of a work that intertwines ecology, literature and patience on such a monumental scale.' Ghosh grew up in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and has a doctorate in social anthropology from the University of Oxford. He has written a number of novels, as well as works of nonfiction and essay collections. Ghosh's writing 'is expansive, urgent, and deeply attuned to the shifting ground of our world', said Paterson. 'His stories traverse oceans and centuries, revealing how the climate crisis is inseparable from histories of empire, migration and myth.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion 'With a rare ability to weave the intimate with the planetary, the visible with the invisible, Ghosh gives voice to the forces – human and more-than-human – that shape our shared future,' she added. Ghosh will submit his manuscript at a ceremony in the Future Library forest in May or June 2026, when the work's title will be revealed. Along with Atwood, Han and Vuong, other writers to have contributed to the project include David Mitchell, Sjón, Elif Shafak, Karl Ove Knausgård, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Judith Schalansky, Valeria Luiselli and, most recently, Tommy Orange. In June 2022, the City of Oslo signed an agreement which ensures the forest remains in the hands of the Future Library Trust for the duration of the project.
New York Times
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Science-Minded Artist Shrinks the Universe to Human Scale
Katie Paterson's work has always been about Earth, and the great vastness beyond. A Scottish multidisciplinary artist, she has worked with scientists across the globe on exhaustively researched projects, including The Future Library, an anthology of 100 previously unpublished books written by some of the 21st century's most celebrated writers. In 2022, astronomers helped her count the times the sun has risen since the Earth was formed — to the most accurate level scientists can — for a piece titled '—there lay the Days between—.' Years earlier, she had worked with scientists specializing in light at the firm Osram to develop lightbulbs that simulate the lunar glow. And yet, 'I never want to go into space,' Paterson said in a video interview. Asked whether her works are portraits of Earth or of us, she said, 'It's going to be us.' 'If all those cosmic sequences hadn't happened, we wouldn't be here breathing and talking together,' she explained. Ultimately, she said, in all her work, she has always been trying to 'get a little bit closer to that understanding of quite how precious life is.' That lifetime pursuit underpins three current projects: a series of paintings on view in an exhibition in Cumbria, England, and 'Afterlife,' which will soon be installed at the Folkestone Triennial 2025 in Kent, England; and 'True North,' which has taken Paterson from Japan to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, where she has just completed a residency. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
