A Letter from the Board

Hello dearest readers,

We welcome you to the seventeenth edition of Tvergastein! This issue sets its sights on the human—non-human dichotomy pervasive in contemporary discourse. It questions the strict boundary we’ve drawn between ‘us’ and ‘others’; between a supreme human and an exploitable nature. This journal employs artwork, poetry, short stories, opinion pieces, and academic articles to not only bring forth some of the profound interdependence that transgresses these boundaries, but to show how reaffirming these boundaries leaves us ill-equipped to properly identify and combat some of the gravest challenges our planet faces. We hope that More Than Human impels you, the reader, to think about the myriad of life forms engaged in the simple process of reading this journal. We hope that you come away from it with inspiration to nurture these interconnections, to explore new relationships beyond our immediate selves, and to challenge the anthropocentrism that not only got us into this planetary mess, but is baked into many inadequate mainstream solutions.

We open with a piece by Emilija Barteškaitė, who directs your attention to the millions upon millions of bacteria cells in our guts, accompanied by artwork by Lucía Aragón. Next, Ana De Luca and José Luis Lezama highlight the destructive tendency of conventional humanist scientific practices, arguing for a new episteme that recognizes our animal nature. This is followed by poetry by Daniel Fuller, who paints his intimate relationship with different landscapes. Jon Heli carries this theme forward, with a photo essay about his alliance with Norwegian forest. In turn, Austra Apiste follows up with a literary analysis, explicating the creation of what Arne Næss calls a ‘place-person’—essentially an intimate and inseparable connection of person and place.

As you progress further into the journal, you will then meet Helene Kamfjord’s first of two contributions, this one an acrylic painting of Nøkken, a mythological creature in Norse folklore. Bendik Sivertsen keeps the focus in Norway, problematizing infrastructure projects in the country’s spectacular wetlands. Next, Magnus Hole Fjetland brings you into the field of psychology, taking issue with the anthropocentrism prevalent in the subject and profession, and offering insights from posthumanist theory. Then, you will meet Helene Kamfjord’s second contribution, this being a watercolor painting of her friend Malin and her companion Feykja. Mikayla Marazzi follows this in stride with an ode to a companion of her own—her cat Judy.

Sofie Van Canegem will then bring you into the world of changing coastlines and the balancing act played out between conservation legislation and security concerns. An article by Jess Le Riche comes next, questioning the limitations of human knowledge in the face of things such as global warming via a literary analysis and the deployment of Timothy Morton’s theory of hyperobjects. After this, Wouter de Rijk will give you a glimpse of the possibilities and potentials of a sense of connectedness, artfully describing his encounters at a jazz club. The penultimate piece, by Ty Tarnowski, urges you to consider virtual spaces such as RuneScape as taking place in broader networks that extend beyond the digital and the human. And finally, at the end of the journal you will find a contribution from Dušan Lovre, who invites you to the end of the world.

Above all, we hope that these humble contributions inspire you to fight for a world more habitable for all forms of life!

Editorial Board, 2022-2023