Bergljot Hobæk Haff (1 May 1925 – 12 February 2016) was a Norwegian educator and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Biography

Haff was born at Botne (now

Holmestrand is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Holmestrand. The town was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). ...

) in

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

, Norway. Her parents were Lars Hobæk (1883–1938) and Martha Aarvold (1895–1987). Both of her parents were educators. She graduated from the Sandefjord Gymnasium in 1943. In 1947, she graduated from Oslo lærerhøgskole (now

Oslo University College Oslo University College ( no, Høgskolen i Oslo; HiO) was the largest state university college in Norway from 1994 to 2011, with more than 18,000 students and approximately 1800 employees.

) with a degree in education. Upon completing her education, she moved to Denmark and taught school for 24 years before returning to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in 1972. She made her debut with the novel ''Raset'' in 1956. She has written both contemporary and historical novels. Her writing has been characterized by original narrative and often by poetical imagination. Her works have also featured both mythical and allegorical interpretation. Her novels have been translated into several languages including English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Lithuanian."Haff, Bergljot Hobæk"
– ''

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

'' (Retrieved on February 21, 2008)

Personal life

She was married twice. In 1948, she married Jørgen Haff (1925–1977). Their marriage was dissolved in 1961. In 1964, she married Søren Christensen. Their marriage was dissolved in 1972. Her daughter Marianne Hobæk Haff is a professor of French linguistics at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

Awards

Haff was awarded the

Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (''Den norske Kritikerprisen for litteratur'' or ''Kritikerprisen'') is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association (''Norsk Litteraturkritikerlag'') and has been awarded every year since 1950. ...

in 1962 for ''Bålet''. She received the

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize ( sv, Doblougska priset, no, Doblougprisen) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. T ...

(''Doblougprisen'') in 1985, the Norwegian Academy Prize in 1988 and the

Aschehoug Prize The Aschehoug Prize is published annually by the Norwegian publishing house Aschehoug. The Aschehoug Prize is awarded to Norwegian authors on the basis of the merit of a recent publication. It is awarded on merit, irrespective of the publisher, bas ...

(''Aschehougprisen'') in 1989. She also was awarded the

Brage Prize The Brage Prize (Norwegian: ''Brageprisen'') is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation (''Den norske bokprisen''). The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature. The Brage Priz ...

(''Brageprisen'') in 1996 for ''Skammen'', the

1996, for ''Skammen'' and the

Riksmål Society Literature Prize The Riksmål Society Literature Prize (''Riksmålsforbundets litteraturpris'') is awarded annually by the '' Riksmålsforbundet'' for the outstanding publication in riksmål. The prize was awarded until 2002 by the ''Oslo and Bærum Riksmål Leagu ...

in 1996. She was nominated twice for the

Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

, once for ''Den guddommelige tragedie'' and again for ''Renhetens pris''.

Bibliography

*''Raset'' – novel – published in English as “The Landslide” (1956) *''Liv'' – novel (1958) *''Du finner ham aldri'' – novel (1960) *''Bålet'' – novel – published in English as “The Bonfire” (1962) *''Skjøgens bok'' – novel (1965) *''Den sorte kappe'' – novel (1969) *''Sønnen'' – novel (1971) *''Heksen'' – novel (1974) *''Gudsmoren. En menneskelig komedie'' – novel (1977) *''Jeg, Bakunin'' – novel (1983) *''Den guddommelige tragedie'' – novel (1989) *''Renhetens pris'' – novel (1992) *''Skammen'' – novel – published in English as “Shame” (1996) *''Sigbrits bålferd'' – novel (1999) *''Den evige jøde'' – novel (2002) *''Attentatet'' – novel (2004)

References

1925 births 2016 deaths People from Holmestrand Oslo University College alumni Norwegian educators Norwegian women novelists 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian women writers 21st-century Norwegian women writers Dobloug Prize winners {{Norway-writer-stub