Karl Friedrich Kurz (23 September 1878 – 26 June 1962) was a Swiss/German/Norwegian novelist. Kurz was born near Freiburg, Bremgarten, Markgräflerland in Germany. As a child he moved with his parents to

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

in Switzerland. He wanted to be a painter and entered the academy in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

. Coincidences made him a writer. He led a vagrant life with an extensive travelling activity in among others

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

and Japan before he settled in Norway where he wrote novels in German. He was influenced by

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...

and got inspiration from the nature and folk life in the fjords of

Sogn Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway ''(Vestlandet)''. It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

and

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the souther ...

. His novels enjoyed great popularity in Germany and were sold in great numbers. In 1934 he was awarded the Großer Schillerpreis by the Schweizerischen Schillerstiftung in Zürich. He first lived in the area of Solund, then near

Vadheim Vadheim is a village in the municipality of Høyanger in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the north shore of the Sognefjorden, along the small Vadheimsfjorden branch. The European route E39 highway runs through the village. It is locat ...

Lavik Lavik is a former municipality in the old county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the western part of the present-day municipality of Høyanger which is in Vestland county. The municipality was mostly on the northern side of the S ...

, before he in 1924 settled in Vårdal in Dalsfjorden in

. He lived there until he in 1950 left his family and moved to Nessjøen in

Fjell Fjell is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Midhordland. The municipality consisted of several islands west of the city of Bergen, the major ones being Litlesotra, the northern p ...

municipality at

Sotra Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Øygarden Municipality in Vestland county, Norway, located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called 'Sotra' and 'Litlesotra' ('small Sotra') that are part of a ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

where he lived until his death in 1962, at 84 years of age. The papers he left behind when he died are mostly lost. Karl Friedrich Kurz is buried at the churchyard at Holmedal in Dalsfjorden, Sunnfjord.

Novels

Ten

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s and a number of short stories. Among others: *''Vom Nil zum Fujijama'', (1910, his first book). *''Kohana''. Japanisches Liebesidyll. Huber. Frauenfeld and Leipzig (1910). *''Mitternachtsonne und Nordlicht'', (1914). *''Herren vom Fjord'', Westermann (1947) (Norwegian translation by Heidi Helle and Rolf Losnegård: ''Herskap ved fjorden'', - ) *''Im Königreich Mjelvik'', Westermann (1930). *''Tyra, die Märcheninsel'', (1935). *''Der Sohn des Meeres'', (1937). *''Ein gesegneter Lügner'', (1938). *''Traum und Ziel '', Dt. Buch-Gemeinschaft (1940) which gave him 1934 ''Grosser Schillerpreis der Schweizerischen Schillerstiftung''. *''Herr Erlings Magd'', Berlin (1936). *''Die Geisterkutsche'', Westermann (1953)

Sources

*Karl Friedrich Kurz: ''Herskap ved fjorden''. Translation from German to Norwegian by Heidi Helle and Rolf Losnegård. *Norvald Tveitt: ''Fra gull til grønne skoger'' - (''From gold to green forests'' (about Erik Grant Lea)). *Interviews with local people in Vårdal, Sunnfjord and Nessjøen, Sotra v/ Frode Inge Helland. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurz, Karl Friedrich 1878 births 1962 deaths 20th-century German novelists German expatriates in Norway People from Fjell German male novelists 20th-century German male writers German expatriates in Switzerland