Arnljot Eggen

Arnljot Eggen (13 August 1923 – 4 February 2009) was a Norwegian journalist, teacher and poet who also wrote plays and children's books.^[1]

Personal life

Eggen was born at

Eggen had plans to become a journalist and held a temporary position with Østerdølen and Fjell-Ljom. From 1950 he worked as a teacher in primary school, including at Vinstra and in Vardal later at Bærum. From 1960 until 1965, he was employed at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Bygdøy.^[2][3]

He made his literary debut in 1951, with the poetry collection Eld og is. He wrote in both standards of written Norwegian, Bokmål and Nynorsk.^[3] He was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature for the children's book Den lange streiken.^[4] He received the Melsom Prize in 1971 for the songbook Bakside-viser, and again in 1995 for the poetry collection Det flyktige varige. In 1985 he received the Dobloug Prize for his authorship.^[4]

In the 1970s he became affiliated with the Workers' Communist Party (now the Red party). He was considered one of the leading left-wing poets in Norway at the time, and was a pioneer of political theatre, the best known play being 1973's Pendlerne. He also had a column in the daily left-wing newspaper Klassekampen.^[3][5]

Awards

• Melsom Prize – 1971
• Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature – 1981
• Dobloug Prize (Shared with Bergljot Hobæk Haff) – 1985

References