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Vikram Kolmannskog

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Vikram Kolmannskog (born September 6, 1980) is an Indian-Norwegian writer, psychotherapist, and jurist.[1]

Climate refugees

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In 2008, as a legal adviser working with the Norwegian Refugee Council, Kolmannskog wrote Future Floods of Refugees: A Comment on Climate Change, Conflict, and Forced Migration. This became the starting point for the work that he and the Norwegian Refugee Council did to improve the rights of so-called climate refugees.[2][3] Kolmannskog was acknowledged for his 'outstanding work' in this field by António Guterres, who was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the time.[4]

In 2014, Kolmannskog was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy at the University of Oslo on the basis of his sociolegal research on the needs and rights of so-called climate refugees.[5][6]

Gestalt therapy

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Kolmannskog has practiced as a gestalt therapist since 2012. In this field too he has been particularly concerned with research related to marginalised groups, including trans folks.[7] [8] Since 2015, he has held a part-time teaching and research position at the Norwegian Gestalt Institute. In March 2022, on the basis of his research and pedagogical work and competence within the field, he became the world's first professor of gestalt therapy.[9]

Literature

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Kolmannskog writes fiction and poetry. In 2018, Routledge published The Empty Chair: Tales from Gestalt Therapy. This book is an introduction to gestalt therapy as well as a collection of clinical tales, and Kolmannskog has been compared to Irvin D. Yalom.[10]

Much of his work explores the intersections of queerness, sexuality, and spirituality. With Taste and See: A Queer Prayer, published in 2018 by Mohini Books, he became known as an author who 'reconciles religiosity, spirituality and being queer'.[11] His work was described as 'a spiritual and sensual prayer'[12] and 'a lyrical study of passion, both religious and carnal'.[13]

Many of his poems and short stories have been written during, and as part of, the Indian LGBTQ mobilisation, and he has been a regular contributor to Indian LGBTQ magazines such as Gaylaxy.[14] On 6 September 2019, on the one-year anniversary of the Indian decriminalisation of homosexuality, a collection of his short stories Lord of the Senses was published by queer-of-colour–centric press Team Angelica.[15][16][17] In March 2020, Lord of the Senses was announced as one of the Lambda Literary Award finalists in Oprah Magazine.[18]

In connection with the poetry collection The Garden Tantra (Red River, 2023), Ruth Vanita described Vikram as 'one of the twenty-first century heirs of Walt Whitman'.[19]

In 2024, Rhyheim: A Porn Poem was published by Broken Sleep Books.[20][21] According to Diriye Osman, 'Vikram Kolmannskog understands the syntax of the spiritual and the sensual, and this devotional to Rhyheim Shabazz is spellbinding. Kolmannskog remains a rare talent.'[22]

Bibliography

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References

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  1. ^ "Gods, Books and Cocks – Vikram Kolmannskog about Writing, Sex, Spirituality and Cosmopolitanism.", Gaylaxy, 25 August 2019, retrieved 25 March 2020
  2. ^ "Klimaendringer årsak til flukt.", Stavanger Aftenblad, 22 April 2008, retrieved 25 March 2020
  3. ^ "What about Climate Refugees? Efforts to Help the Displaced Bog Down in Copenhagen.", Spiegel International, 17 December 2009, retrieved 25 March 2020
  4. ^ Climate Changed: People Displaced., Norwegian Refugee Council, 15 April 2009, p. 3, retrieved 25 March 2020
  5. ^ "Climate refugees hard hit by unclear laws.", Science Norway, 14 May 2014, retrieved 25 March 2020
  6. ^ "Klimaflyktning i lov og praksis.", Morgenbladet, 24 January 2014, archived from the original on 25 March 2020, retrieved 25 March 2020
  7. ^ "Samtalegruppe for trans.", Blikk, 3 January 2013, retrieved 25 March 2020
  8. ^ "VIKRAM VIL SPRENGE KJØNNSBÅSENE.", Erlik, January 2016, archived from the original on 25 March 2020, retrieved 25 March 2020
  9. ^ NGI har fått verdens første professor i gestaltterapi (in Norwegian), Norsk Gestaltinstitutt, retrieved 11 March 2022
  10. ^ "Gripende debut.", Deichman Litteraturbloggen, retrieved 25 March 2020
  11. ^ "Why should we give the church or temple the power to define who is a religious person?", The Hindu, 3 April 2014, retrieved 25 March 2020
  12. ^ "A spiritual and sensual prayer.", Bangalore Mirror, 4 March 2018, retrieved 25 March 2020
  13. ^ "Taste and See.", Kirkus Reviews, 8 December 2017, retrieved 25 March 2020
  14. ^ "Vikram Kolmannskog", Gaylaxy, retrieved 25 March 2020
  15. ^ "Gods, Books and Cocks – Vikram Kolmannskog about Writing, Sex, Spirituality and Cosmopolitanism.", Gaylaxy, 25 August 2019, retrieved 25 March 2020
  16. ^ "All These Write, Not I Alone: A Conversation with Vikram Kolmannskog.", PEN Transmissions, English PEN, 10 September 2019, retrieved 25 March 2020
  17. ^ "Vikram Kolmannskog's 'Lord of the Senses' Delves Deep into the Indian Queer Experience.", News18, 22 January 2020, retrieved 25 March 2020
  18. ^ "These Are The Finalists for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards, Announced Exclusively on OprahMag.com.", Oprah Magazine, 10 March 2020, retrieved 25 March 2020
  19. ^ "The Garden Tantra". Goodreads. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  20. ^ Kolmannskog, Vikram (2024-01-31). Rhyheim: A Porn Poem. Broken Sleep Books. ISBN 978-1-915760-59-3.
  21. ^ Engesbak, Reidar (2024-02-06). "Pornodikt". www.blikk.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  22. ^ "Vikram Kolmannskog- Rhyheim". Broken Sleep Books. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
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