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

Climate refugees

In 2008, as a legal adviser working with the

Norwegian Refugee Council The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC, no, Flyktninghjelpen) is a humanitarian, non-governmental organisation that protects the rights of people affected by displacement. This includes refugees and internally displaced persons who are forced to flee ...

, 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 Climate migrants are a subset of environmental migrants who were forced to flee "due to sudden or gradual alterations in the natural environment related to at least one of three impacts of climate change: sea-level rise, extreme weather events, ...

. Kolmannskog was acknowledged for his 'outstanding work' in this field by António Guterres, who was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the time. In 2014, Kolmannskog was awarded a

Doctorate of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

at the University of Oslo on the basis of his sociolegal research on the needs and rights of so-called climate refugees.

Gestalt therapy

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. 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.

Literature

Kolmannskog writes fiction and poetry. In 2018,

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

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 Irvin David Yalom (; born June 13, 1931) is an American existential psychiatrist who is emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, as well as author of both fiction and nonfiction. Early life Yalom was born in Washington, D.C. A ...

. 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'. His work was described as 'a spiritual and sensual prayer' and 'a lyrical study of passion, both religious and carnal'. 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 ''Gaylaxy'' is an Indian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) magazine. The magazine is based in Kolkata. History and development ''Gaylaxy'' was founded by Sukhdeep Singh. In 2010, Singh was still an eighth semester BTech student at th ...

''. 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. In March 2020, ''Lord of the Senses'' was announced as one of the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

finalists in

Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...

Bibliography

* ''Becoming Buddha. Meditations'' (Mohini Books, 2020)
''Lord of the Senses. Stories'' (Team Angelica, 2019)

''The Empty Chair. Tales from Gestalt Therapy'' (Routledge, 2018)

''Poetry Is Possible. Selected Poems'' (Leadstart, 2018)

''Taste and See. A Queer Prayer'' (Mohini Books, 2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolmannskog, Vikram 1980 births Living people Gestalt therapists Climate activists Queer theorists 21st-century Indian poets