Karin Bang (3 December 1928 – 20 August 2017) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, children's writer and crime fiction writer.''Karin Bang Brynildsen er død''
(oyene)

Early and personal life

Bang was born in

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 ...

as the daughter of industrial manager Alf Bang and Dagmar Kathinka Hansen. She grew up in an isolated and protected environment in Oslo, while the summers were spent at the family's summer house in

Veierland Veierland is a populated, carfree island in Færder municipality, Norway. A ferry service operated by Jutøya AS connects the island with the nearby, larger island of Nøtterøy. The island also has a permanent ferry link to Engø peninsula in n ...

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 ...

, where she was influenced from old coastal culture. After

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1947 she worked five years as a secretary in Oslo, while she wrote her first books. She was married to writer Aasmund Brynildsen from 1952 until his death in 1974, and cohabited with the writer

Sigbjørn Hølmebakk Sigbjørn Hølmebakk (2 February 1922 – 25 November 1981) was a Norwegian author. Biography Hølmebakk was born at Feda (now Kvinesdal) in Vest-Agder, Norway. His parents were Søren Adolf Svindland (1881–1966) and Inger Marie Abrahamsen M ...

from 1979 until he died in 1981.

Literary career

Bang made her literary debut in 1949 with two light reading novels, while the novel ''Glemte vinger'' from 1951 is regarded as her debut as a serious writer. Other novels were ''Fjerne seil'' (1962) and ''Blåst om babord–!'' (1964). Her novel ''Blues'' (1968) from the drug scene was the basis for a film from 1969, called ''

Psychedelica Blues ''Psychedelica Blues'' is a Norway, Norwegian youth drama film from 1969 directed by Nils Reinhardt Christensen. Along with Øyvind Vennerød's ''Himmel og helvete'', it was the first Norwegian film that dealt with adolescents' use of narcotics, a ...

''. Her trilogy ''Bedremannsbarn'' (1973), ''Borgersinn'' (1974) and ''Nye veier'' (1979) is a family chronicle from the early 1900s. Her double novel ''Jutøy'', consisting of ''Havet ble blod'' (1978) and ''Jag etter vind'' (1981), are historical novels from the

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

pioneer time in

between 1809 and 1905. The story takes place on the fictitious island Jutøy and among whalers at the polar sea, and also depicts whaling pioneer

Svend Foyn Svend Foyn (July 9, 1809 – November 30, 1894) was a Norwegian whaling, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He pioneered revolutionary methods for hunting and processing whales. Svend Foyn introduced the modern harpoon cannon and brought ...

. She was a member of the

Norwegian Authors' Union The Norwegian Authors' Union ( no, Den norske Forfatterforening, DnF) is an association of Norwegian authors. It was established in 1893 to promote Norwegian literature and protect Norwegian authors' professional and economic interests. DnF also w ...

's literary council for several periods. Bang is a passionate collector of ancient dolls, and she edited the anthology ''Har dukkene sjel?'' (1985), in which she contributed an article on the cultural history of dolls. She has written two children's books, ''Lotte på loftet'' (1992) and ''Katten på Sjørøverøya'' (1994). She has also written two crime novels, ''Mord i måneskinn'' (1956) and ''Seilas med døden'' (1960).

Awards and honours

Bang has received several literary prizes, including 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 1966, 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 ...

in 1976, and the

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 wi ...

in 1983 (shared with Terje Johanssen).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bang, Karin 1928 births 2017 deaths Writers from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian children's writers Norwegian crime fiction writers Norwegian women novelists Norwegian women children's writers Norwegian women poets 21st-century Norwegian women writers 20th-century Norwegian women writers Women crime writers