Bob Hansson: Kindness Wins – An Invasion of Hope!

Bob Hansson

The kindest wins! – An invasion of hope

Age limit: Everyone is welcome!

Doors open: 18.40 | On stage: 19:00

Duration: 110 minutes + interval

The bars in the Marble Foyer and the Gold Foyer are open from 6.00 pm

Bob Hansson recently published his book *The Kindest Wins*, which has both attracted a great deal of attention and become a bestseller. He is now taking to the stage with a show based on the book. These are dark times, but this show is a ray of sunshine for the soul. Bob Hansson is truly unique in his ability to take himself and the audience on a journey from belly laughs to profound seriousness. He may well be the only person in the world who combines research, poetry, meditation and peace all within a single performance. But what really matters isn’t what Bob Hansson does, but how you feel when you leave. And you’ll feel fantastic!

Bob Hansson, whose new book *The Kindest Wins* is currently in the spotlight, says the following:

– Just like you, I believe that change is possible! I believe we have more potential than we realise. And I believe we have a greater impact on those issues than we have any idea of!

I have written 13 books, performed thousands of times, run courses in writing and personal development for thirty years, and been the support act for my idol, Thåström. Everything I do is based on one single thing: we can change both ourselves and the world. But I only believe that because I was once saved by others who believed exactly that.

For a while, I was the worst in the class at everything; I was the last of all to learn to read, write and speak. I was a difficult lad whom the teachers often excluded and, all too often, sat at the back. They called me a problem child; there was talk of a future in prison. But something happened.

Instead, over many years I became one of the most widely read poets in the country and am currently one of the most in-demand speakers. And that’s because there were people who were passionate about helping! Two different teachers who neither hit me nor threw me out, but believed that change was possible, and therefore became deeply committed. They weren’t even geniuses. They simply happened to believe they could make a difference anyway. Without them, you wouldn’t be reading this. No one is shaped solely by their own efforts. Research shows that we usually influence the world around us more than we realise. You don’t even need to be a middle manager for that.

Today I’m talking about kindness, and how it’s a force that makes things happen. Kindness towards oneself and kindness towards others. Kindness isn’t the same as always saying yes. Kindness is more than just being nice. If kindness is lacking, we often pay a high price – both as individuals and as organisations. This can be prevented.

Whatever I do, it is based on the very fact that this life is unfolding, and so it is entirely possible that both we ourselves and the world can become even more beautiful. The first thing required for this is to believe in it. The second thing required is to get started. There is only one way in which wise thoughts can change a life: by being put into action.

Hope to see you!

Bob Hansson was born in 1970 on a ferry bound for Helsingborg, but grew up on dry land. He made his literary debut with the poetry collection *Heja världen!* in 1998. Since then, he has written, amongst other works, the novel *Gunnar* (2007), the interview book *Kärlek, hur fan gör man?* (2008) and *Vips så blev det liv* (2010). *“Det sista vi har är våra kroppar”* (2012) was Bob Hansson’s third novel and tenth book. In the spring of 2015, the poetry collection *“Och grannsämjan är en långsam bödel”* was published.

In spring 2018, he published the book *Thoughts for the Day – A Guide to a Kindler Life*, which brings together the best of Bob Hansson’s morning reflections from the past 10 years on P1 – as well as some new bits and bobs.

In autumn 2020, *Allvarligt talat* was published, in which Bob Hansson has compiled a selection from his radio programmes. It contains answers to questions posed by readers, but of course also questions that Bob has sometimes asked himself. The result is a book which, like a good friend, helps us to explore the questions we all harbour within us.

In the spring of 2023, he is set to release ‘Can’t we be kind now, because we’re actually going to die’, a collection of poems that is not a journey on a fluffy, cuddly cloud, but often a deep dive, a plunge into darkness, a fear, a black hole. As always, his poems are spot-on, rich in detail and filled with us – the people who inhabit this planet. A planet that is also threatened by something other than kindness.