University of Iowa alumna Kathleen Maris Paltrineri's (MFA ‘21) English translation of and when the light comes it will be so fantastic, a poetry collection by Norwegian poet Kristin Berget, was published in July 2025 by Northwestern University Press—culminating years of research supported by two international grants.

Paltrineri, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, worked with the International Writing Program at Iowa from 2014 to 2018. That experience deepened her interest in translation and led her to pursue a second MFA in literary translation at Iowa.

In 2018, she received an International Programs’ Stanley Graduate Award for International Research, which allowed her to begin translating the 2017 Brage Prize-nominated collection.

“I’m so thankful for the Stanley Graduate Award, which supported my research of this translation,” said Paltrineri. “I’m excited to share Kristin Berget’s poetry with readers, and I’m hoping to connect this collection with students who are learning these languages, in hopes of encouraging them to do research, too.”

Due to the pandemic, Paltrineri was unable to travel abroad to conduct her research with the Stanley Graduate Award. Instead, she carried out her research and translation of Berget's right here in Iowa—which later influenced her MFA thesis at Iowa.

“I’m very excited about contributing to the translation of Scandinavian literature,” Paltrineri said. “There are very few poets who have been translated into English.”

She continued her research with the help of a Fulbright Fellowship to Norway from 2021 to 2022, expanding her research into Nordic ecocriticism.

“I find that poetry is something that connects us to one another, to the mystery and wonder in life—and is a means of expressing what I think in ways that many other genres can’t."

“I was able to build on the Stanley research by surveying Nordic ecocriticism,” said Paltrineri. “Environmental poetry has a long history in Norway, and it was important for me to understand where Kristin Berget’s work fits in that literary lineage.”

Growing up in the Iowa agriculture industry, Paltrineri said she found it fascinating how Berget describes nature and consumerism.

“Berget writes about depleted soil, logging machines, and the environmental destruction tied to Norway’s oil industry,” she said. “It reminded me of my own experience working in industrial agriculture as a teenager—walking through cornfields treated with chemicals like Roundup, which are cancer-causing and devastating to the water supply. It synthesized my own interests and experiences growing up.”

Paltrineri decided to split her fellowship between the University of Oslo and the University of Tromsø, where she was able to explore the environmental themes in Berget’s poetry and survey broader Scandinavian literary traditions.

“My Fulbright to Norway allowed me to research not only Kristin Berget's work but also many other authors,” she said. “I read a lot of individual collections written by numerous authors, which was instrumental to my work.”

Paltrineri had previously studied the Norwegian language while growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, due to her Norwegian family heritage. She was learning the language in grade school and continued through high school, developing a deep interest in connecting with the Norwegian language and literature.

“I traveled to Norway frequently at a young age,” Paltrineri said. “It instilled a kind of curiosity in the world for me. I loved growing up in Iowa, and I also equally loved being able to travel and learn about new cultures, different religious traditions, and different languages.”

She added that she was interested in poetry from a very young age and earned her first MFA in poetry from the University of New Hampshire in 2013.

“I've been drawn to poetry ever since I was a child,” Paltrineri said. “I find that poetry is something that connects us to one another, to the mystery and wonder in life—and is a means of expressing what I think in ways that many other genres can’t. It stems from an oral tradition, and I love the embodied nature of poetry.”

Looking ahead, Paltrineri is organizing readings and events to celebrate the release of her translation, with plans to organize readings and events in Iowa City in the near future.

“I’m hoping her [Berget] work not only brings Norwegian poetry to English-speaking audiences but also encourages students and scholars to explore Scandinavian literature and translation more deeply,” she said. “We’re living in a time of isolationism and xenophobia, and the more we can learn from people around the world, the better we’ll be.”

Learn more about international student funding opportunities at Iowa

International Programs (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.