Olav Håkonson Hauge (18 August 1908 – 23 May 1994) was a Norwegian horticulturist, translator and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Biography

Hauge was born at the village of

Ulvik Ulvik is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality stretches from the Hardangerfjord to the mountains that reach above sea level. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ulvik. The villages of Osa and ...

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 ...

, Norway. His parents Håkon Hauge (1877-1954) and Katrina Hakestad (1873-1975) were farmers. Hauge attended middle school in Ulvik 1925–1926. He learned English and German in school and later taught himself French by reading. He spent many years training in horticulture and fruit cultivation. He went to Hjeltnes Horticulture School (''Hjeltnes videregående skole'') in Ulvik (1927 and 1933–34),

Norwegian University of Life Sciences The Norwegian University of Life Sciences ( no, Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Norway. It is located at Ås in Viken, near Oslo, and at Adamstuen in Oslo and has around 5,200 stude ...

at Ås (1930) and the State Research Center (''Statens forsøksgardt'') at Hermannsverk in

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

(1931-1933). He lived his whole life in Ulvik working as a

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

in his own apple

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

. Hauge's first poems were published in 1946, all in a traditional form. He later wrote

modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases ...

and in particular

concrete poetry Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...

that inspired other, younger Norwegian poets, such as

Jan Erik Vold Jan Erik Vold (born 18 October 1939) is a Norwegian lyric poet, jazz vocal reciter, translator and author. He was a core member of the so-called "''Profil'' generation", the circle attached to the literary magazine ''Profil''. Throughout his care ...

. A well-known example, in the Norwegian original: :''Katten'' :''sit i tunet'' :''når du kjem.'' :''Snakk litt med katten.'' :''Det er han som er varast i garden.'' In English translation: :''The cat is sitting'' :''out front'' :''when you come.'' :''Talk a bit with the cat.'' :''He is the most sensitive one here.'' Aside from writing his own poems, he was internationally oriented, and translated poems by

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of ...

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he starte ...

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which he wr ...

Paul Celan Paul Celan (; ; 23 November 1920 – c. 20 April 1970) was a Romanian-born German-language poet and translator. He was born as Paul Antschel to a Jewish family in Cernăuți (German: Czernowitz), in the then Kingdom of Romania (now Chernivtsi, U ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and

Robert Bly Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ' ...

to Norwegian. He also wrote poetry in homage to fellow poets

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection ''Les Fil ...

and

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

. He was also inspired by classical

Chinese poetry Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language. While this last term comprises Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, and other historical and vernacular forms of the language, its poetry ...

, e.g. in his poem "T`ao Ch`ien" in the collection ''Spør vinden''. Hauge has been translated to English by the Scottish poet

Robin Fulton Robin Fulton is a Scottish poet and translator, born on 6 May 1937 on the Isle of Arran. Since 2011 he has published under the name Robin Fulton Macpherson. Biography The son of a Church of Scotland minister, Robin Fulton was born in Arran in 19 ...

in ''Olav Hauge: Selected Poems'', from 1990, and by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

poet

in ''Trusting Your Life to Water and Eternity: Twenty Poems of Olav H. Hauge'', from 1987. The American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Robert Hedin Gunnar Robert Hedin (born 2 February 1966) is a Swedish handball coach and retired player who won silver medals at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. He also won a bronze medal at the 1993 World Championships, playing alongside his younger bro ...

translated Hauge in 2001 in the collection ''The Bullfinch Rising from the Cherry Tree: Poems of Olav H. Hauge'' and in ''Leaf-huts and Snow-houses'' in 2004.

and Robert Hedin together translated Hauge in 2008 in ''The Dream We Carry: Selected and Last Poems of Olav H. Hauge''. Words from ''Glor i oska'' were used as lyrics for the

Solefald Solefald is a Norwegian avant-garde metal/black metal band that was formed by members Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland and Cornelius Jakhelln in August 1995, with Nedland singing and playing keyboard/synthesizer/piano and drums, and Jakhelln singing ...

song "Song til stormen" off of their 2010 album,

Norrøn Livskunst ''Norrøn livskunst'' is the seventh studio album by Norwegian Avant-garde metal, avant-garde black metal band Solefald and their first album released through Indie Recordings. Track listing Concept The press release for described the album as ...

. Olav H. Hauge Center (''Olav H. Hauge - Senteret'') is situated on Brakanes near Ulvikafjorden. The center includes an exhibition, library of poetry, poetry workshop and museum highlighting the poet's life and work. Nynorsk kultursentrum manages both the Olav H. Hauge Centre and the Ivar Aasen-instituttet in

Ørsta is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Ørsta ( ...

List of works

*''Glør i oska'' (Noregs boklag, 1946) *''Under bergfallet'' (Noregs boklag, 1951), ''Beneath the Crag'' *''Seint rodnar skog i djuvet'' (Noregs boklag, 1956), ''Slowly the Trees Turn Red in the Gorge'' *''På ørnetuva'' (Noregs boklag, 1961), ''On the Eagle's Tussock'' *''Dikt i utval: Dogg og dagar'' editor

Ragnvald Skrede Ragnvald Skrede (24 April 1904 – 16 August 1983) was a Norwegian author, journalist, literature critic and translator. Biography Ragnvald Skrede was born in Vågå in Oppland county, Norway. Skrede was the youngest of seven children. He was a s ...

. (Noregs boklag, 1965) *''Dropar i austavind'' (Noregs boklag, 1966), ''Drops in the East Wind'' *''Spør vinden'' (Noregs boklag, 1971), ''Ask the Wind'' *''Dikt i samling'' (Noregs boklag, 1972) *''Syn oss åkeren din'' in selection by

. Bokklubben, 1975. (Collected from Dikt i samling) *''Janglestrå'' (Samlaget, 1980), ''Gleanings'' *''Regnbogane'' (1983) (Children's book, illustrations by Wenche Øyen) *''ABC'', 1986 (Children's book) *''Mange års røynsle med pil og boge'' (recording). (Samlaget, 1988) *''Brev 1970-1975'' (Cappelen, 1996) *''Det er den draumen'' (Samlaget, 1998), ''It's the Dream'' *''Dagbok 1924-1994'' (Samlaget, 2000) *''Skogen stend, men han skiftar sine tre. Aforismar i utval'' (Samlaget, 2001)

Translations

*''Utanlandske dikt'', 1967 *''Stephen Crane: Svarte ryttarar'', 1974 *''Bertolt Brecht: Til ettertidi'', 1978 *''Hand grip hand i svevne'', 1978 *''Dikt i umsetjing'', 1982 *''Frå Rimbaud til Celan'', 1991

Awards

* Kritikerprisen for ''På ørnetuva'' - 1961 * Sokneprest Alfred Andersson-Ryssts fond 1968 *

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize ( sv, Doblougska priset, no, Doblougprisen) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. T ...

- 1969 * Sunnmørsprisen for ''Spør vinden'' - 1971 *

Melsom-prisen The Melsom Prize () is a Norwegian literary award. It is given annually to a writer or translator who writes in Nynorsk, for a work published during the preceding year. The prize was established in 1922 by the shipowner Ferdinand Melsom. The prize s ...

- 1973 * Aschehougprisen- 1978 * Nynorsk barnelitteraturpris for ''Regnbogane'' (jointly with Wenche Øyen) - 1983

Translations of his poetry

*Olav Hauge translated into Ukrainian by Viktoria Rudych (2019) ''За горою самотності'' ( Krok Publishers) *Olav Hauge translated by Olav Grinde (2016) ''Luminous Spaces: Olav H. Hauge: Selected Poems & Journals'' (White Pine Press) *Olav Hauge translated by Robert Bly and Robert Hedin (2008) ''The Dream We Carry: Selected and Last Poems of Olav Hauge'' (Copper Canyon Press) *Olav Hauge translated by Robin Fulton (1990) ''Olav Hauge: Selected Poems'' (White Pine Press) *Olav Hauge translated by Robert Bly (1987) ''Trusting Your Life to Water and Eternity: Twenty Poems of Olav H. Hauge'' (Milkweed Editions) *Olav Hauge translated by Sabina Messeg and Hannah May Svnedal 2010, ''Elvi Burtanum Fjorden, הנהר שמעבר לפיורד'', Carmel publishing house,

References

External links

Olav H. Hauge - Senteret website

at NRK Forfatter
Olav H. Hauge
at Dagbladet Forfatter
Olav H. Hauge
at Aftenposten Alex {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauge, Olav 1908 births 1994 deaths 20th-century diarists 20th-century Norwegian male writers 20th-century Norwegian poets 20th-century Norwegian translators Dobloug Prize winners Norwegian diarists Norwegian horticulturists Norwegian male poets People from Ulvik