Tarjei Vesaas (20 August 1897 – 15 March 1970) was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century and perhaps its most important since

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 opposin ...

Biography

Vesaas was born in

Vinje Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

, Norway to Olav Vesaas (1870–1951), a farmer and Signe Øygarden (1870-1953), a teacher. He was the oldest of three sons. He was guilt-ridden by his refusal to take over the family farm, and this guilt permeates much of his authorship. He spent much of his youth in solitude, seeking comfort and solace in nature. He married the writer

Halldis Moren Vesaas Halldis Moren Vesaas (18 November 1907 – 8 September 1995) was a Norwegian poet, translator and writer of children's books. She established herself as one of the leading Norwegian writers of her generation. Biography She was born on a f ...

(the daughter of Sven Moren and the sister of Sigmund Moren) and moved to Midtbø in his home district of Vinje in 1934. They had two children: a son, Olav Vesaas and a daughter, Guri Vesaas. His authorship covers almost 50 years, from 1923 to 1970. Written in

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-Nor ...

, his work is characterized by simple, terse, and symbolic prose. His stories are often about simple rural people that undergo a severe psychological drama and who according to critics are described with immense psychological insight. Commonly dealing with themes such as

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

guilt Guilt may refer to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term *Guilt (law), a legal term Music * ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims * "Guilt" (The Long Bl ...

angst Angst is fear or anxiety (''anguish'' is its Romance languages, Latinate cognate, equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin). The dictionary definition for angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insec ...

, and other deep and intractable human emotions, the Norwegian natural landscape is a prevalent feature in his works. His debut was in 1923 with ''Children of Humans'' (''Menneskebonn''), but he had his breakthrough in 1934 with ''The Great Cycle'' (''Det store spelet''). His mastery 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-Nor ...

language, ''

landsmål 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-Nor ...

'' (see

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

), has contributed to its acceptance as a medium of world class literature. A prolific author, he won a number of awards, including 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 w ...

in 1943 and

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 ...

in 1957. He was awarded the

Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

in 1963 for his novel ''The Ice Palace'' and the Venice Prize in 1953 for ''The Winds''. He was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

on 57 occasions (once in 1946, and often multiple times every year between 1950 and 1970). The most famous of his works are '' The Ice Palace (Is-slottet)'', a story of two girls who build a profoundly strong relationship, and '' The Birds (Fuglane)'', a story of an adult of a simple childish mind, which through his tenderhearted empathy and imagination bears the role of a seer or writer. His novels have been translated into 28 languages. Several of his books have been translated into English – many of them published by

Peter Owen Publishers Peter Owen Publishers is a family-run London-based independent publisher based in London, England. It was founded in 1951.John Self"Peter Owen: Sixty years of innovation" Books Blog, ''The Guardian'', 4 July 2011. History The company was founded ...

– among them ''

Spring Night ''Spring Night'' () is a 1954 novel by the Norwegian writer Tarjei Vesaas Tarjei Vesaas (20 August 1897 – 15 March 1970) was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth c ...

'', ''The Birds,'' ''Through Naked Branches,'' and ''The Ice Palace''.

Awards

*1943 –

(''Gyldendals legat'') *1946 –

Melsom Prize 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 ...

(''Melsom-prisen'') *1957 –

(''Doblougprisen'') *1964 –

(''Nordisk råds litteraturpris'') *1967 –

Norwegian Booksellers' Prize The Norwegian Booksellers' Prize (''Bokhandlerprisen'') is a literature prize awarded annually by the Norwegian Booksellers Association after voting among all who work in Norwegian bookstores. The prize is awarded for one of the year's books in t ...

(''Bokhandlerprisen'')

Selected works

*'' Dei svarte hestane'', novel 1928 * The Great Cycle, ''Det store spelet'', novel 1934 * Women Call Home, ''Kvinnor ropar heim'', novel 1935 (sequel to ''The great cycle'') * The Seed, ''Kimen'', novel 1940 *

The House in the Dark ''The House in the Dark'' () is a 1945 novel by the Norwegian writer Tarjei Vesaas. It tells the story of a frightening, darkened house, to which men are trying to dig tunnels, but are routinely captured and taken away in a truck. The novel was wr ...

, ''Huset i mørkret'', novel 1945 * The Winds, ''Vindane'', short stories 1952 * Land of Hidden Fires, ''Løynde eldars land'', poetry 1953 *

, ''Vårnatt'', novel 1954 * The Birds, ''Fuglane'', novel 1957 * The Ice Palace, ''Is-slottet'', novel 1963, published and translated into English by

, London. *

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, ''Bruene'', novel 1966 * The Boat in the Evening, ''Båten om Kvelden'', novel 1968 *''Through Naked Branches'': Selected Poems of Tarjei Vesaas, 2000

References

Other sources

*Kenneth Garnier Chapman (1970
''Tarjei Vesaas''
(Twayne Publishers)

Biography

Awards

Selected works

See also

References

Other sources

Related reading