Morten (aka bokmorten) comes from Norway and has been using Postcrossing since 2014. We learned about his work as a librarian and children’s books expert, and got curious about how he found us and how his Postcrossing journey has been going.
- How did you get started sending postcards? What is your earliest memory of them?
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When I was 8, my father introduced me to stamp collecting. That was a link to sending and receiving post as well. Later, in my teens, I had pen pals home and abroad. I have always been curious about other people, their lives and customs.
- How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?
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I read about Postcrossing in the newsletter of Foroya Post (Faroese Post). Tried it right away, and I’m still here.
- Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!
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As you might see, we live in a small village/suburb with rural surroundings.
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Morten’s mailbox - Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.
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I am not a collector per se, so there are only a few cards I’ve kept, using them as decorations or book marks. Among those, I’ve been enjoying some “Gesamtkunstwerk” where stamp and card share the same theme. Like the Gaston from France:
Or this Austrian card and stamp with Ukraine flag theme and some of the Moomin cards from Finland with related stamps.
I must also mention the very nice Hungarian postcrosser who sent me a Hungarian translated version of a famous Norwegian children’s book. She’s still a Facebook friend.
- Do you have any other interesting hobbies or collections?
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I’m a frequent contributor to Norwegian Wikipedia, awarded “Wikipedian Of The Year 2013” in Norway. I also write and edit other non fiction writing in local history, children’s literature history and in the Norwegian academic encyclopedia Store Norske Leksikon.
- Is there anything else that you are passionate about?
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Through my work, I am the proud and eager editor and publisher of children’s books in the threatened minority language Southern Saami, and into other Saami languages as well. This work has awarded us two national awards, among them 'Library of the Year 2019', and two times nominations to the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest children’s literature prize. Read more about our work in English, or Scandinavian (for Scandinavian readers and those putting their trust in web translations).
Thank you for answering our questions, Morten!
41 comments so far
Thanks for the interesting interview 😊 Keep up the amazing work, Morten! 📚
Morten, love that you are protecting the Saami languages- thank you!
Gracias por tu entrevista y los comentarios de donde vives en un entorno rural yo tambien vivo en un pueblo pequeño de los Pirineos...
Great questions and wonderful responses Morten, and can we talk about your mailing depot there, the one with the pitch roof….now that is soooo inviting. sounds like you certainly found your calling, I bid you adieu…( farewell)
Congratulations on all that you are doing... especially protecting the Saami language! It's important that we do not lose these languages as they are a critical element of culture. Love your photo of your postbox and the quiet road.
Thank you fo this great article! I love to learn about Postcrossers' lives, locations and what makes them tick.
Thank you Morten for chairing your story with us.
Great interview! So happy you shared your story with us. I have friends in Bergen!
Thank you for this article. I love learning about the lives of various postcrossers. I hope you do more of these interviews. Maybe do a "postcrosser of the month" series?
Another read worthy spotlight. I love the postbox pic.
That is amazing, thank you for sharing your Postcrossing journey.
Thank you
I am fascinated by your persevering love of literature and your ability to contribute to children's and your indigenous people's well being. A good example to follow.
I love this article. It's great to learn about other postcrossers in depth. And this is part of my heritage.
Thanks! I like it.
Fine interview. Look forward to these each month.
"I am not a collector per se, so there are only a few cards I’ve kept"
This sounds a little confusing to me, so i assume he is interested in the stamps ......while Postcrossing is about postcards.
Hope you don't mind my thoughts 😉
Best wishes!
What an interesting interview! I am so impressed by the Saami, Wikipedia and SNL work! And how great to learn about fellow postcrossers, I have only been here for a little over a year, and I have met so many interesting amd lovely people. Wishing you lots of joy with Postcrossing, Morten!
We've got an interesting story to tell, as well! And, I say 'we' meaning Ivan ( aka petar-pan), a librarian from Croatia and me (aka athanasi), a teacher of English from Greece. We 'met' each other as postcrossers three years ago. We started to write stories for children as a game - paragraph by paragraph on line - and we haven't stopped writing since then. Our stories have begun to come in public in the form of: a story edited in the Croatian Kids magazine, 'Smib', and the National Croatian Radio keeps on transmitting them. Dear Morten, we wish to contact you and would be very glad if some of our stories were published in Saami language!
Great interview, thanks Morten! Love the Saami children’s books story.
Lovely interview 👏. Thank you for sharing 😀.
I love this story! I am a school librarian--my students are learning Lakota, which is also an endangered language. I am happy that you are preserving Saami for future generations with your stories!
Very accomplished in your various activities, Morten. Thank you for sharing!
Excellent interview.
I love this post.Thank you for sharing.
I am a retired librarian and children's literature specialist. I am delighted with your profession. Thank you for sharing.
Interesting interview, but I am puzzled with the phrase "...only a few cards I've kept." too. Over 2 thousand cards received, about 800 favs, what is he doing with all these cards after reading them?
Interesting interview/
I might try to explain myself to sort out Cherylls confusion and STANS question.
I understand that for some postcrossers the idea of Building A Large Collection of the received cards, are almost the core idea of Postcrossing. To me, it isn't. I'm not a collector, neither of cards nor stamps. When I mark a received card as a favorite, it is because I've enjoyed receiving it, and can continue to enjoy it in my digital collection.
I'm rather a _connector_, enjoying the nice occations when Postcrossing connects me with kindred spirits around the world - because we have something in common: experiences, interests, humour or attitudes.
I'm also a _sharer_, enjoying the occations when the effort i put into a special card is well received.
Gut gebrüllt, Löwe! (Max Kruse, Childrens book)
It was not necessary to explained but you did it brilliant!
As Shakespearsaid it in "Summer night dream": "Well roared , lion".
Thanks!!! Interesting interview!
Many thanks to bokmorten for the explanation. I confess I am a stamp collector and my first impulse to start Postcrossing was expansion of my collection. However very soon I found that communication with people all around the world is way more interesting than getting a few random stamps most of which don't fit my collection anyway :)
I keep postcards that touched something inside me, so it is a kind of new collection too.
Concerning online collections - I don't really believe in immaterial assets. Partly, because I lost online access to quite a number of online courses that I've been buying for several years on "The Great Courses" and some other incidents like that, but in general it must be because I am just a kid of older times. I love to know that all I need to see my cards or stamps is my reading glasses.
Still, the mystery of what you do with received cards persists. If you are not interested in keeping them hope you are donating them to a school or library. I think it would be a pity to just lose them.
Thanks again and Happy Postcrossing to all!
Beautiful interview! Congrats Morten for your linguistic activity achievements! Keep up the good work, hope someday the Postcrossing randomly chooses you for sending a postcard :)
Happy Readings & Happy Postcrossing
Thank you for the interview, I definately enjoyed reading your answers, and love your little mailbox!
Also, I am curious about the postcards that sound like they may be discarded. Perhaps a school, seniors home or library, would like them to read, and maybe display, or an artist can make collages with them for an event or small museum or gallery.
Hope there is no offense, but these are just suggestions! 😘
I love receiving these delightful and charming postcards.
Thank you 💗
I always enjoy hearing more about my fellow postcrossers. . .especially those from countries I have visited. I can particularly relate to those who are interested in simply making brief "connections" using the "language of postcards". Oftentimes one small photo/picture/drawing sent through the mail can be worth a thousand thoughtfully communicated words of friendship to both sender and recipient.
Always nice to see different cultures reacting similarly to Postcrossing appeal. Thanks for sharing your experience, Morten.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Morten... we live in a small world after all!!
Carlos, a proud teacher from Brazilian countryside...
Thanks Morten!
Great guy, keep up the good work!
Very interesting Morten. We had contact a few months ago and you recommended a child book which I have bought.
My town has a museum of children's books, one of the largest collections in the world. They sell postcards of some of the cover art...8 cards for $1. Send me a PM if you would like one.
https://www.mazzamuseum.org/
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