The Glossolalia debate ( no, Tungetaledebatten) was a literary debate on modernist poetry in Norway in the 1950s. The debate started with Arnulf Øverland's nationwide touring with the speech ''Tungetale fra Parnasset'' ( en, Glossolalia from the Parnassus) in 1953, characterizing modernist literature as

babble Babble may refer to: * ''Babble'' (That Petrol Emotion album), 1987 album by That Petrol Emotion * ''Babble'' (Coyne & Krause album), 1979 album by Kevin Coyne And Dagmar Krause * Babble (band), a later incarnation of the Thompson Twins * Babb ...

and nonsense. His talk was published in '' Arbeiderbladet'' in 1954, and resulted in a fierce debate. Among the defenders of modernist poetry were

Odd Solumsmoen Odd Solumsmoen (6 June 1917 – 30 April 1986) was a Norwegian novelist and literary critic. Biography Solumsmoen was born at Hamar in Hedmark, Norway. His parents were Torger Solumsmoen (1886-1923) and Mathilde Gren (1885-1967). His father di ...

Olav Dalgard Olav Dalgard (June 19, 1898 – December 25, 1980) was a Norwegian literary and art historian, filmmaker, author and educator. Biography Dalgard was born Olaf Hanssen in Folldal, in Hedmark, Norway. From the age of three, he was raised at Oppdal ...

and

Paal Brekke Paal Brekke (17 September 1923 – 2 December 1993) was a Norwegian lyricist, novelist, translator of poetry, and literary critic. Brekke fled from occupied Norway to Sweden in 1940, when he was 17 years old. He made his literary debut in 1942 ...

, while poet and literary critic André Bjerke joined Øverland's criticism. The glossolalia debate was discussed in the literary magazine '' Profil'' in 1968.

References

Norwegian literature Modernism Literary debates {{Lit-stub