Sidsel Mørck (28 November 1937 – 5 March 2024) was a Norwegian poet, novelist and columnist. Her awards included the

Fritt Ord honorary award Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award () and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award (). ...

and the

Ossietzky Award The Ossietzky Award () is a prize awarded by the Norwegian chapter of P.E.N., for extraordinary contributions to freedom of speech. The prize is named after writer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Carl von Ossietzky. Recipients * Aziz Nesin (19 ...

Background

Born in

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 ...

on 28 November 1937, Mørck grew up in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

, Norway. For ten years, from 1968 to 1978, she lived in the industrial area of Norsk Hydro in

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

, which sparked her commitment to environmental protection. Her stepgrandfather, Dimitri Dimitrivich Koloboff, who she called dad, came to Norway from Russia in 1920. His journey is the subject of Mørck's 2010 book ''Pappa – a Russian refugee.'' Mørck died on 5 March 2024, at the age of 86.

Career

Mørck made her literary debut in 1967 with the

poetry collection A poetry collection is often a compilation of several poems by one poet to be published in a single volume or chapbook. A collection can include any number of poems, ranging from a few (e.g. the four long poems in T. S. Eliot's ''Four Quartets' ...

''Et ødselt sekund''. Further poetry collections are ''Dager kan vokse'' from 1969, ''Apropos'' (1970), ''Først var det små rom'' (1971), ''I forhold til'' (1973), ''En mykere morgen'' (1977), ''Byliv'' (1980), and ''Hver eneste natt'' from 1990. Her collections of songs and poetry for children include ''Erta, berta sukkererta'' from 1978, ''Sur og blid-vers'' (1987), ''På tvers-vers'' (1993) and ''Hit og dit-vers'' (2002). In total, she has published over 30 novels, short stories and collections of poems for adults and children. As an activist, she has written over 120 articles on social issues, particularly environmental protection and industrial pollution, and given a number of lectures. In 2013, Mørck received the

, in recognition of her strong social commitment, especially in the field of women's affairs, gender roles and environmental protection. As well as including these issues in her writing, Mørck was an active social debater and columnist. Mørck was on the board of The Sophie Prize, an international environment and development prize awarded annually from 1998 to 2013.

Awards

* 1976: Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment * 1988: Oppretter Venstres miljøpris * 1989: Kardemommestipendiet * 1990:

Fritt Ord Honorary Award Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award () and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award (). ...

* 1991: Rachel Carson Prize (environmentalist award) * 1993:

Government scholar Government scholar () is a position awarded by the Parliament of Norway upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research and funded directly over the state budget of Norway. The position can be "for li ...

* 2009: Vestfold Literature Prize ( Vestfolds Litteraturpris) * 2012: Ordknappen 2012 for the book ''Brother'' * 2013:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morck, Sidsel 1937 births 2024 deaths Writers from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian women novelists Norwegian women poets 21st-century Norwegian women writers 20th-century Norwegian women writers