Paal Brekke (17 September 1923 – 2 December 1993) was a Norwegian lyricist, novelist, translator of poetry, and literary critic. Brekke fled from

occupied Norway 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 ...

to Sweden in 1940, when he was 17 years old. He made his literary debut in 1942, with the poetry collection ''Av din jord er vi til'' (From thy soil we exist). His

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

was ''På flukt'' (On the run, 1946). Brekke has been called the father of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

in Norway. He was awarded the

Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (''Den norske Kritikerprisen for litteratur'' or ''Kritikerprisen'') is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association (''Norsk Litteraturkritikerlag'') and has been awarded every year since 1950 ...

in 1972 for the poetry collection ''Aftenen er stille'' (Quiet is the evening). He received the

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 1981.

Biography

As a young refugee Brekke became familiar with modern

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

poetry. He returned to Norway in 1945, and issued the collection ''Jeg gikk så lange veier'' (1945). The novel ''På flukt'' (1946) is describing a failed attempt to reach England during the war. Later collections are ''Skyggefektning'' (1949), and ''Løft min krone, vind fra intet'' (1957). Brekke's contributions to modernist poetry in the 1960s are the collection ''Det skjeve smil i rosa'' (1965), poetry combined with political sarcasm, and ''Granatmannen kommer'' (poems and other texts, 1968). In the 1970s he issued ''Aftenen er stille'' (1972), for which he received the critics prize, ''Syng, ugle'' (1978), and ''Flimmer. Og strek'' (1980). Late in his life he released the two collections ''Men barnet i meg spør'' (1992) and ''Ostinato'' (1994, posthumous). Brekke was soon noticed for his orientation towards modern European poetry, both as poet and critic. He asked for a renewal of Norwegian poetry, and spread knowledge of foreign literature through translations of English modernist writers like T.S.Eliot, and also Indian and Japanese poetry. In the mid 1950s Brekke participated in the debate on lyrical form, and opposed

André Bjerke Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...

and

Arnulf Øverland Ole Peter Arnulf Øverland (27 April 1889 – 25 March 1968) was a Norwegian poet and artist. He is principally known for his poetry which served to inspire the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway during Wor ...

in the so-called '' Glossolalia debate''. The travel book ''En munnfull av Ganges'' (1962) is written after a visit to India in 1960, where Brekke was faced with poverty and hunger in the

third world The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

, and became aware of the underlying conflicts between rich and poor nations.

Selected works

*''Av din jord er vi til'' (1942) *''Fri är du född'' (1943) *''Landflyktig soldat'' (1945) *''Jeg gikk så lange veier'' (1945) *''På flukt'' (1946) *''Skyggefektning'' (1949) *''Aldrende Orfeus'' (1951) *''Og hekken vokste kjempehøy'' (1953) *''Løft min krone, vind fra intet'' (1957) *''Roerne fra Itaca'' (1960) *''En munnfull av Ganges'' (1962) *''De skjeve smil i rosa'' (1965) *''Granatamannen kommer'' (1968) *''Aftenen er stille'' (1972) *''Syng, ugle'' (1978) *''Flimmer. Og strek'' (1980)

Translations

*''T.S.Eliot: Det golde landet og andre dikt'' (1949) *''Amerikansk lyrikk'' (1957) *''Moderne japansk lyrikk'' (1965) *''Indisk lyrikk'' (1979)

Awards

1972 *

1981 * Riksmål Society Literature Prize 1992

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brekke, Paal 1923 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Norwegian modernist poets Dobloug Prize winners 20th-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian male novelists 20th-century Norwegian male writers