Johan Falkberget, born Johan Petter Lillebakken, (30 September 1879 – 5 April 1967) was a Norwegian author. He was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature.
Life and career
Johan Falkberget was born on the Lillebakken farm in the Rugldal valley in the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
copper mining municipality of
Røros
Røros ( sma, Plaassja, ) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen.
The min ...
.
In 1891, he began to write his Christianus Sextus trilogy, though it was not published until later. He formally changed his surname for writing purposes in 1893, from Lillebakken to Falkberget—the
name of the farm he then lived on (this was a normal practice in those days). His first work was published in 1902. In 1906 he quit his job as a miner and found a job as editor of the newspaper «''Nybrott''» in
Ålesund
Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrativ ...
. In 1908 he traveled to Fredrikstad and edited «''Smaalenes Socialdemokrat''». He then received a government-sponsored scholarship and traveled to
Kirkenes. From 1909 till 1922 his primary residence and workplace was in Kristiania (now Oslo).
In 1922 he returned to Røros and lived on the Ratvolden farm, less than 1 km from the Falkberget farm. His Ratvolden house is now a museum. While living there, he represented the Norwegian Labour Party (''Arbeiderpartiet'') for
Sør-Trøndelag in the Storting from 1931 to 1933.
Since he grew up in a mining area and began his career as a miner, his works drew extensively on his experiences with the people, the country culture and mining. His breakthrough work in 1923 was a novel titled ''
Den fjerde nattevakt'' (The Fourth Night Watch), a
historical novel set in the first half of the 19th century in and around the mines. This was followed by his «Christianus Sextus» trilogy, set in the 1720s, in which the mining culture is also a central theme. Falkberget contributed extensively to the newspaper ''
Fjell-Ljom (The Mountain Echo), originally spelled ''Fjeld-Ljom'', is a local weekly Norwegian newspaper published in Røros in Sør-Trøndelag county.
has been published since January 8, 1886. In 1979 the newspaper went into bankruptcy after losing out t ...
''.
After a long and productive life, he died on 5 April 1967 and is buried in the family plot in the upper churchyard at Røros.
Authorship
"The miners' toil and rhythm of life became the fulcrum of Falkberget's literature", according to
Sturle Kojen (a biographer).
Important works
::''Many of his works are not available in English translation. Those that are, have been noted with the English equivalent title next to the Norwegian title.''
*1902 ''Når livskvelden kjem - Forteljing''
*1903 ''Bjarne - Et billede fra en fjellbygd''
*1905 ''Vaarsus - Fortælling''
*1905 ''Moseflyer - Skitser og sagn fra Dovrefjeld''
*1906 ''Hauk Uglevatn - Fortælling fra Dovrefjeld''
*1907 ''Svarte Fjelde - Fortælling''
*1908 ''Mineskud''
*1908 ''Ved den evige sne - Fortælling I''
*1909 ''Fakkelbrand''
*1909 ''Urtidsnat''
*1910 ''Vargfjeldet - Smaa fortællinger''
*1910 ''Nord i haugene - Eventyr''
*1911 ''Fimbulvinter''
*1912 ''En finnejentes kjærlighetshistorie''
*1912 ''Jutul-historier - Fortalt av 'n Soplim-Tosten sjøl''
*1913 ''Eli Sjursdotter''
*1913 ''Eventyr. Nord i Haugene og Jutulhistorier''
*1914 ''Simen Mustrøen. Karikaturkomedie''
*1914 ''Av Jarleæt''
*1915 ''Lisbet paa Jarnfjeld''
*1916 ''Eventyrfjeld. Historier for barn''
*1916 ''Helleristninger. Historier fra fjeldet og jagten''
*1917 ''Brændoffer''
*1918 ''Rott jer sammen''
*1918 ''Sol. En historie fra 1600 tallet''
*1919 ''Barkebrødstider - Nye fortællinger''
*1919 ''Vidden - Fortællinger''
*1919 ''Bjørneskytteren''
*1920 ''
Bør Børson
''Bør Børson jr.'' is a satirical novel from the boom period during World War I, written by Norwegian writer Johan Falkberget. It was first published as a feuilleton in the satirical magazine '' Hvepsen'' in 1917, then again printed as a feuille ...
- Olderdalens største sønn''
*1920 ''Byd lykken haanden eller da Johannes Mo løste rebusen''
*1920 ''Bør Børson jr.''
*1921 ''Naglerne. Eller jernet fra Norden og andre fortellinger''
*1923 ''Den fjerde nattevakt'' (The Fourth Night Watch)
*1924 ''I Nordenvindens land''
*1925 ''Vers fra Rugelsjøen''
*1926 ''Anders Reitan. Liv og virke 1826-1926''
*1927 ''Den nye Bør Børson jr.''
*1927 ''Christianus Sextus. De første geseller'' (CHRISTIANUS SEXTUS - trilogy: The First Journeyman)
*1928 ''Det høie fjeld''
*1928 ''Solfrid i Bjørnstu og de syv svende''
*1929 ''I forbifarten''
*1931 ''Christianus Sextus. I hammerens tegn'' (CHRISTIANUS SEXTUS - trilogy: The Sign of the Hammer)
*1933 ''Der stenene taler''
*1935 ''Christianus Sextus. Tårnvekteren''(CHRISTIANUS SEXTUS - trilogy: The Tower Watch)
*1936 ''I vakttårnet''
*1940 ''Nattens Brød.
An-Magritt''
*1944 ''Runer på fjellveggen. Sagn og fortellinger''
*1946 ''Nattens Brød. Plogjernet'' (The Plough)
*1948 ''I lyset fra min bergmannslampe''
*1952 ''Nattens Brød. Johannes''
*1959 ''Nattens Brød. Kjærlighets veier'' (Love's Way)
*1963 ''Jeg så dem --''
*1964 ''Vers fra Rugelsjøen og andre dikt''
Awards
*
Gyldendal's Endowment Gyldendal's Endowment was a literature prize which was awarded in the period 1934–1995 by the Norwegian publisher Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. The prize was awarded to significant authors, regardless of which publisher the author was associated w ...
for 1939
* Nominated for the Nobel Prize thirty-six times.
References
External links
NRK: Johan FalkbergetFamily genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkberget, Johan
1879 births
1967 deaths
20th-century Norwegian novelists
Norwegian male writers
Labour Party (Norway) politicians
Members of the Storting
Sør-Trøndelag politicians
People from Røros
Dobloug Prize winners