Andreas Paulson (16 February 1861 – 1 March 1953) was a Norwegian bank accountant, and also a

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

and

theatre critic Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera. Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas the ...

. He was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

as the son of politician Olav Paulssøn (1822–1896) and Anna Kristine Christofa Hagerup (1824–1917). His family had moved from

Jølster Jølster is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre was the village of Skei. Other villages in the municipality included Helgheim, Ålhus, Vass ...

the year before he was born, and Paulson spent most of his life in Bergen. He married Amalia Marie Geist in October 1888. He was a younger brother of Ragnvald Paulson. Paulson did not finish his secondary education, but he spent formative years in the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

movement and later the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

. In 1895 he was hired as a literary and theatre critic in the socialist newspaper ''

Arbeidet ''Arbeidet'' ("The Work") was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Bergen in Hordaland county. History and profile ''Arbeidet'' was started in Bergen as a socialist newspaper on 6 December 1893, by a grouping called . It was the first socialist d ...

''. From 1898 he was also a music critic. He worked here until 1929, and then in ''

Bergens Arbeiderblad ''Bergensavisen'' (lit. "the Bergen newspaper"), usually shortened to ''BA'', is the second largest newspaper in Bergen, Norway. The paper is published in tabloid format. The newspaper's webpage ba.no is Bergen's largest local newspaper webpage ...

'' from 1929 to 1941 with a second period after World War II. He also wrote humorous texts, both in ''Bergens Arbeiderblad'' and '' Hvepsen''. The newspaper ''Arbeidet'' both belonged to the Labour Party (from 1905) and the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

(from 1923) while Paulson worked in the newspaper, but as he was not involved in

party politics A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

, he was not affected by the schism between the two parties. His roots was in the labour movement as such, and he was widely known for his book ''Hvad skal Arbeiderne læse?'' (1914), where he sought to propagate the interest of literature in the working class. He believed in the concept of

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

as a driving force in history, but also in the refinement and actions of

individuals An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own need ...

; being described by professor Harald Beyer as "an independent individualist". Nonetheless, he was also involved in more bourgeois endeavors, being a consultant for the theatre

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...

from 1928 to 1933. He also contributed to the biographical dictionary ''

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. The first edition (NBL1) was issued between 1921 and 1983, including 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. It was published by Aschehoug with economic support from the state. bought the rights to ...

'', and supported

Riksmål (, also , ) is a written Norwegian language form or spelling standard, meaning the ''National Language'', closely related and now almost identical to the dominant form of Bokmål, known as . Both Bokmål and Riksmål evolved from the Danish wri ...

as a written form of the Norwegian language. Parallel to his writing career, he worked for the

Bank of Norway Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway. The bank shall promote economic stability in Norway. Norges Bank also manages the Government Pension Fund of Norway and the bank’s own foreign exchange reserves. History The history of ...

, being an accountant in its

branch from 1901 until his retirement in 1929. He was honored with a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

on his ninetieth birthday. He died in March 1953 in Bergen. He was a grandfather of

Finn Ludt Finn Ludt (16 November 1918 – 3 August 1992) was a Norwegian pianist, composer and music critic. He was born in Fana. He made his concert debut in Bergen in 1945. He composed several songs, including "Blåklokkevikua", "Blåbærturen" and "L ...

and

Bjørn Paulson Bjørn Andreas Paulson (21 June 1923 – 14 January 2008) was a Norwegian high jumper and jurist. He was a grandson of Andreas Paulson. He was born in Bergen, but represented the club IL Skjalg. At the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulson, Andreas 1861 births 1953 deaths Norwegian literary critics Norwegian theatre critics Journalists from Bergen