Bergljot Hobæk Haff (1 May 1925 – 12 February 2016) was a Norwegian educator and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Biography

Haff was born in Botne Municipality (now part of

Holmestrand Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Holmestrand (town), town of Ho ...

) in

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county, Norway. Her parents were Lars Hobæk (1883–1938) and Martha Aarvold (1895–1987). Both of her parents were educators. She graduated from the Sandefjord Gymnasium in 1943. In 1947, she graduated from Oslo lærerhøgskole (now

Oslo University College Oslo University College (; HiO) was the largest state university college in Norway from 1994 to 2011, with more than 18,000 students and approximately 1800 employees.

) with a degree in education. Upon completing her education, she moved to Denmark and taught school for 24 years before returning to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

in 1972. She made her debut with the novel ''Raset'' in 1956. She has written both contemporary and historical novels. Her writing has been characterized by original narrative and often by poetical imagination. Her works have also featured both mythical and allegorical interpretation. Her novels have been translated into several languages including English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Lithuanian."Haff, Bergljot Hobæk"
– ''

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

'' (Retrieved on 21 February 2008)

Personal life

She was married twice. In 1948, she married Jørgen Haff (1925–1977). Their marriage was dissolved in 1961. In 1964, she married Søren Christensen. Their marriage was dissolved in 1972. Her daughter Marianne Hobæk Haff is a professor of French linguistics at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

Awards

Haff was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature in 1962 for ''Bålet''. She received the

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize (, ) 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. The prize sum is 4 * 150,000 Swedish crow ...

(''Doblougprisen'') in 1985, the Norwegian Academy Prize in 1988 and the Aschehoug Prize (''Aschehougprisen'') in 1989. She also was awarded the

Brage Prize The Brage Prize (Norwegian: ''Brageprisen'') is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation (''Den norske bokprisen''). The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature. The Brage Pr ...

(''Brageprisen'') in 1996 for ''Skammen'', the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 1996, for ''Skammen'' and 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 League ...

in 1996. She was nominated twice for 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 ...

, once for ''Den guddommelige tragedie'' and again for ''Renhetens pris''. She was awarded the Amalie Skram Prize in 1995.

Bibliography

*''Raset'' – novel – published in English as “The Landslide” (1956) *''Liv'' – novel (1958) *''Du finner ham aldri'' – novel (1960) *''Bålet'' – novel – published in English as “The Bonfire” (1962) *''Skjøgens bok'' – novel (1965) *''Den sorte kappe'' – novel (1969) *''Sønnen'' – novel (1971) *''Heksen'' – novel (1974) *''Gudsmoren. En menneskelig komedie'' – novel (1977) *''Jeg, Bakunin'' – novel (1983) *''Den guddommelige tragedie'' – novel (1989) *''Renhetens pris'' – novel (1992) *''Skammen'' – novel – published in English as “Shame” (1996) *''Sigbrits bålferd'' – novel (1999) *''Den evige jøde'' – novel (2002) *''Attentatet'' – novel (2004)

References

1925 births 2016 deaths People from Holmestrand Oslo University College alumni Norwegian educators Norwegian women novelists 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian women writers 21st-century Norwegian women writers Dobloug Prize winners {{Norway-novelist-stub