French Novelist Clara Arnaud Shares Reflections from Her Journey to Svalbard

Currently in Longyearbyen to work on her next novel, French author Clara Arnaud is also contributing the first entry to Field Notes — a new section on the Artica website where residents and members of our network share reflections, observations, and recommendations inspired by their time in the Arctic.

In the first part of her three-part essay series, Clara recounts her arrival aboard the sailing ship Linden, offering a poetic reflection on what it means to approach the far north slowly, by sea. Her writing touches on themes of belonging, distance, and the soul of the vessel that carried her here.

“I thought Svalbard was one of those edges of the world that deserved to be approached with respect, consideration, and delicacy. An archipelago you have to ask permission to enter, and that you must approach only after an initiation rite: a crossing of the Barents Sea, measuring, in the meantime, its insularity and its remoteness.”

Read Clara’s full essay — and explore the new Field Notes section — here.