Oddleiv Sigurd Bang Hølaas (27 March 1898 – 2 March 1968) was a Norwegian journalist and writer. He won 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 1964. He was born in

Tveit Tveit is a village and surrounding district in Oddernes borough in the city of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The Tveit district is located in the northeastern part of Kristiansand, northeast of the Topdalsfjorden along the lower part of t ...

as a son of physician Oddleiv Magne Hølaas (1869–1915) and Aasta Bang (1867–1953). He was a paternal grandson of Andreas Hølaas. He

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

secondary education in 1917, and was hired in the newspaper ''

Christianssands Tidende ''Christianssands Tidende'' (Kristiansand Times) was a conservative newspaper published in Kristiansand, Norway. The paper was founded in 1883Vidnes, Jacob. 1935. ''Norway: A Brief Presentation of Historical, Cultural, Political, Economic, Indust ...

''. Already in 1918 he went on to ''

Nationen ''Nationen'' is a Norwegian daily newspaper with a particular focus on agriculture and rural districts. Its circulation in 2015 was 12,954, an increase of 281 copies from 2014. History and profile ''Nationen'' was founded in 1918.

'', and in 1924 to ''

Tidens Tegn ''Tidens Tegn'' (Norwegian: ''Sign of the Times'') is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1910 to 1941. Editors The founder and first editor-in-chief of ''Tidens Tegn'' was Ola Thommessen, who edited the newspaper until 1917. Tho ...

''. In July 1926 he married Kjellaug Skajaa (1906–1990). He remained in ''Tidens Tegn'' until 1940. The newspaper was closed in 1941. This was during the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

, and he was arrested on 12 May 1942. He was incarcerated in Bredtveit concentration camp until 24 September 1942. From 1946 to 1950 he was a Norwegian press attaché in Copenhagen, from 1951 to 1956 he was a culture attaché in Washington DC. From 1956 he worked in ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

'' and also had a column in ''

Aktuell RTL aktuell is a German television news programme broadcast on the commercial station RTL. The main 20-minute bulletin airs every evening at 18:45 CET, supplemented by a breakfast news bulletin (''Punkt 6'', ''Punkt 7'', and ''Punkt 8'' formerly ...

''. Hølaas also released several books; best remembered are the essay collections ''De talte dager'' (1946), ''Øyne som ser'' (1964) and ''Livstegn og speilinger'' (1966). In 1964 he won 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 ...

and the

. Hølaas died in March 1968 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 ...

from

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

References

1898 births 1968 deaths People from Kristiansand Norwegian essayists Norwegian columnists Norwegian expatriates in Denmark Norwegian expatriates in the United States Bredtveit concentration camp survivors 20th-century essayists 20th-century Norwegian journalists {{Norway-journalist-stub