University
The Betty Fjord University is an intellectual summer camp, reading group and writing retreat.
Based at the Betty Fjord Clinic, a residential studio and sauna in the Randsfjord Valley an hour from Oslo, the BFU welcomes friends old and new for a week of creative experimentation, relaxation and socialising.
Term dates
BFU 1 : Sunday 22 May to Sunday 29 May, 2022.
Activities
Having survived academia and concluded that the future of learning is outside institutions, our founders give you the liberty to learn in an informal environment. You can take the reading and writing groups we host each day, work on your own projects, converse, exercise, and relax in a safe and respectful atmosphere. We invite you to participate in the following activities.
Reading
Head of philosophy Nina Power provides texts to read and discuss, either in the woodland studio or outdoors, on the sundeck by the lake or around the bonfire. The initiatory theme for the texts and discussions at BFU1 is mind programming / deprogramming.
Discussions will be wide-ranging and continued throughout the day, unconstrained by formal office hours.
Writing
An antidote to the MFA-style workshop, our taught writing provision is inspired by the group writing activities of OuLiPo and the Surrealists. Although it is not specific to any specific genre or medium and requires no literary education or prior training, the emphasis on our writing group is literary experimentation and the creation of new texts based on material discovered during the week. Publication of the work produced at BFU1 is something we will consider depending on quality and quantity.
Founders & Hosts
Nina Power is a philosopher, cultural critic and poet whose most recent book, What Do Men Want? is released by Penguin. She was a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Roehampton for thirteen years and currently teaches courses on art, religion, politics and cultural theory in a variety of academic and post-academic settings. She does not drink alcohol.
Lev Parker is the editor of the independent press Morbid Books and ghostwriter of commercial nonfiction who has spent many weeks at the Betty Fjord Clinic. He devised the “Everyday Surrealism” course at the Poetry School in London and has taught at several British universities. The poet and critic Jeremy Reed said, “If Burroughs was alive today, he would be publishing with Morbid Books.” He does not drink alcohol.
Simon Tickner is the landlord from the Queens Head pub in Brixton who moved to Norway to open the Betty Fjord Clinic. He drinks alcohol.
Arithmetic
Only 8 people can attend BFU. It costs £1,500 inclusive of meals, accommodation and airport transfers.*
Facilities & accommodation
Located in a glacial valley five minutes from the freshwater fjord, you are free to swim, sauna, meditate, exercise and play games.
The house has private rooms with woodland views and a spacious dorm room in the loft.
For more info, see the accommodation section, or contact us. Restaurant-quality meals and barbecues are prepared by Uncle Simon throughout your stay, all included in the cost, so you don’t have to spend a penny while you are here.
Admissions policy & accreditation
No formal qualifications are required or provided.
* Flights from London to Oslo start at £10 return. We offer a free shuttle service to and from Oslo Gardermoen on Sundays.
Book now
All enquiries regarding the Betty Fjord University should be directed in the first instance to our founders Nina and Lev :
Introduce yourself, and if it sounds like BFU is for you, we will provide simple instructions on how to enrol.
Note : there are only 8 places, so we recommend getting in contact ASAP.