Sigmund Skard (31 July 1903 – 26 May 1995) was a Norwegian poet, essayist and professor of American literature.

Biography

Skard was born in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

, Norway. He was a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). He was a brother of Bjarne Skard (1896–1961) who served as Bishop of the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and 9 rural deaneries. Hi ...

, of University of Oslo professor Eiliv Skard (1898–1978), of senior lecturer Vemund Skard (1909-1992) and of teacher Gunnhild Skard (1912-1999). He was a half-brother of college teacher Målfrid Birkeland (1879-1963), of University of Agriculture professor Olav Skard (1881–1965) and of horticulturalist Torfinn Skard (1891–1970). He graduated artium from

Kristiansand Cathedral School Kristiansand Cathedral School (''Kristiansand katedralskole Gimle''), known in Latin as ''Schola Christiansandensis'', is a high school in Kristiansand, Agder, Norway. It is the oldest high school on the southern coast of Norway, having been fo ...

in 1921. He attended the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

where he earned his Cand.philol. in literature history in 1931 and took his dr.philos. degree in 1938 with the thesis ''A. O. Vinje og antikken'' on noted poet and journalist

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (6 April 1818 – 30 July 1870) was a Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk). Background Vinje was born into a poor but ...

(1818–1870). He was hired at the University Library of Oslo, and was connected to the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. 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 th ...

, he moved with his wife and young children to the United States where he worked as a consultant at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

(1941–43) and the

United States Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

(1943–45). Biography. Hosted by Bærum public library
After the liberation of Norway at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he and his family settled at

Lysaker Lysaker is an area in Bærum Municipality, Viken (county), Viken County, Norway. Lysaker is the easternmost part of Bærum and borders Oslo city proper, proper. Lysaker was initially a farming community, later becoming a residential area. Today ...

in Akershus, Norway. He worked as the first professor in American literature at the

from 1946 to 1973. He established the European Association for American Studies in 1954 and was the Chairman of the University International Summerschool 1958-68. A proponent of the

Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-N ...

language form, he was the secretary of the publishing house Det Norske Samlaget from 1930 to 1938, and chairman of the board from 1949 to 1972. Since 1995, Det Norske Samlaget has awarded an annual literary award which is named "Sigmund Skard-stipendet" in his honor. Skard published ten poetry collections and translated both prose and poetry into the Norwegian language from Latin, French, Italian and English. He also wrote biographies about his father Matias Skard as well as of his in-laws, Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht. Skard received numerous awards and was awarded honorary doctorates at several universities. In 1965, he won the Bastian Prize for the reprisal of

Dante's Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

. Among other prestigious awards were the 1983

Arts Council Norway Honorary Award The Arts Council Norway Honorary Award ( no, Norsk kulturråds ærespris) is awarded annually by the Arts Council Norway. The prize is awarded annually to a person who has made a significant contribution to Norwegian art and culture. The pri ...

(''Norsk kulturråds ærespris'') and the 1992 Brage Prize (''Brageprisens'').

Personal life

In January 1933, he married Åse Gruda Koht (1905–1985), the daughter of

Halvdan Koht Halvdan Koht (7 July 1873 – 12 December 1965) was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party. Born in the north of Norway to a fairly distinguished family, he soon became interested in politics and history. Star ...

(1873–1965) and Karen Grude Koht (1871–1960). His wife was a noted pioneer in the field of childhood development and psychology. The couple had five children;

Halvdan and Aasmund Skard Halvdan is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Halvdan Aarsrud (1878–1925), Norwegian bailiff and politician for the Labour Party * Halvdan the Black (c. 810 – c. 860), ninth-century king of Vestfold *Halvdan Wexels ...

(both born 1939), Torild Skard (born 1936) and Målfrid Grude Flekkøy (1936–2013) and Anne Skard (born 1945). He died during 1995 and was buried beside his wife at Haslum kirkegård in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

. He was a member of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

, which was later headed by his daughter Torild Skard.

Selected works

* ″The Voice of Norway″ (with H. Koht) - London 1943 * "Amerikanske problem" - 1949 * ″The American Myth and the European Mind. American Studies in Europe 1776-1960″ - Philadelphia 1961 * ″Norwegian Contributions to American Studies″ (with H.H.Wasser) - Philadelphia 1966 * ''Poppel ved flyplass'' - 1970 * ''Det levande ordet. Ei bok om Matias Skard'' - 1972 * ''Auga og hjarta'' - 1973 * ''Dikt i utval'' - 1973 * ''Ord mot mørket'' - 1976 * ″Transatlantica. Memoirs of a Norwegian Americanist″ - 1978 * ″Classical Tradition in Norway.″ An Introduction with Bibliography - 1980 * ''Solregn. Ein sjølvbiografi'' - 1980 * ''Mennesket Halvdan Koht'' - 1982 * ''Atterklang'' - 1987 * ''Karen Grude Koht. Drag av ein kvinnelagnad'' - 1987 * ''Norsk utefront i USA 1940–1945'' - 1987 * ''Alders år. Ei minnebok'' - 1989

References

Norwegian expatriates in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Skard, Sigmund 1903 births 1995 deaths People from Kristiansand People from Bærum University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian philologists Norwegian non-fiction writers 20th-century Norwegian poets 20th-century Norwegian male writers Norwegian male poets Noregs Mållag Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters 20th-century Norwegian translators Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people People of the United States Office of War Information 20th-century philologists Male non-fiction writers