For decades, the Epos navigated the intricately carved fjords along Norway’s coast during winter, bringing books to residents.
Built in 1963, it served as a bokbåt, or library boat, until 2020, when its funding was cut.
To save the Epos and its mission, supporters created a foundation that bought the boat and relaunched it as a center for literary events and a traveling bookstore.
Schoolchildren in the village of Lofthus, on the Sorfjord, waiting to board.
Lina Taule Fjortoft delivers a performance of a children’s book, “Ylva and the Wild Goats.” From the beginning, the boat brought live performances and readings by authors, actors, musicians and clowns.
Maria Pile Svasand's grandfather built the Epos in the Hardangerfjord. In 2022, she was asked to run the boat, carrying on the role once played by her grandfather and father.
Svasand manages every aspect of life on board, from setting the schedule to cooking for the crew and visitors.
The sailing is left to Captain Arne Linge, who grew up on the Hardangerfjord.
The early morning sun washes over Ulvik, on the Hardangerfjord. The village, famous for its apples and cider, is also the birthplace of the poet Olav H. Hauge.
A book about the Epos, published in 1988, showed scenes from life on board. On the left is a former librarian, Sigrid Kvarekval, helping a patron.
“This lady was standing on the dock at a remote island waiting for us with her suitcase," remembered Kvarekval. "She also brought books to very old people who were not able to come.”
Since the boat came only two or three times over the winter, a stock of books was left in each location, she said.
Brit Bildoen, a writer, poet and former librarian, is a regular guest on the boat. “People are not always interested in reading poetry by themselves, but they like to attend readings, meet the writers and listen to poetry.”
The Hauge Poetry Museum in Ulvik, one of the Epos’ stops, is dedicated to Hauge, the poet. His family were apple farmers; he trained as a horticulturist before turning to writing.
With books originally sent from America by an uncle, Hauge built a vast library. “He was in Ulvik for almost his whole life,” said Jorid Lekve Eide, the director of the museum, “but through his book collection, and everything that he read, he was everywhere.”
James Hill, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, has been taking photographs for The New York Times since 1993.