Tarjei Vesaas

Tarjei Vesaas
Tarjei Vesaas
	Tarjei Vesaas (1967)
Born	August 20, 1897; Vinje, Telemark, Norway
Died	March 15, 1970 (aged 72); Oslo, Norway
Language	Nynorsk
Nationality	Norwegian
Notable awards	Gyldendals legat (1943) ; Doblougprisen (1957)
Spouse	Halldis Moren (m. 1934)
Children	Olav Vesaas; Guri Vesaas
Relatives	Sven Moren (father-in-law); Sigmund Moren (brother-in-law)

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.^[1]

Biography

Vesaas was born in Vinje, Telemark, Norway to Olav Vesaas (1870–1951), a farmer and Signe Øygarden (1870–1953), a teacher. ^[2] 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 (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. ^[3]^[4]

His authorship covers almost 50 years, from 1923 to 1970. Written in

landsmål (see Norwegian language), has contributed to its acceptance as a medium of world class literature.^[5]

A prolific author, he won a number of awards, including the

Nordic Council's Literature Prize 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 on 57 occasions (once in 1946, and often multiple times every year between 1950 and 1970).^[6]

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– among them Spring Night, The Birds, Through Naked Branches, and The Ice Palace.^[7]

Awards

1943 – Gyldendal's Endowment (Gyldendals legat)
1946 – Melsom Prize (Melsom-prisen)
1957 – Dobloug Prize (Doblougprisen)
1964 –
Nordic Council's Literature Prize
(Nordisk råds litteraturpris)
1967 – Norwegian Booksellers' Prize (Bokhandlerprisen)

Selected works

Novels

Menneskebonn (Children of Man, 1923)
Sendemann Huskuld (Huskuld the Herald, 1924)
Dei svarte hestane (The Black Horses, 1928)
Sandeltreet (The Sandalwood, 1933)
Kimen (The Seed, 1940)
- Translated by Kenneth G. Chapman (Peter Owen Publishers, 1964)
Huset i mørkret (The House in the Dark, 1945)
- Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan (Peter Owen Publishers, 1976)
Bleikeplassen (The Bleaching Place, 1946)
- Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan (Peter Owen Publishers, 1981); published as The Bleaching Yard
Tårnet (The Tower, 1948)
Signalet (The Signal, 1950)
Vårnatt (Spring Night, 1954)
- Translated by Kenneth G. Chapman (Peter Owen Publishers, 1972)
Fuglane (The Birds, 1957)
- Translated by Torbjørn Støverud and Michael Barnes (Peter Owen Publishers, 1968)
Brannen (The Fire, 1961)
Is-slottet (The Ice Palace, 1963)
- Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan (Peter Owen Publishers, 1993)
Bruene (The Bridges, 1966)
- Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan (Peter Owen Publishers, 1969)
Båten om Kvelden (The Boat in the Evening, 1968)
- Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan (Peter Owen Publishers, 1971)

Grinde Farm series

Grindegard: Morgonen (Grinde Farm, 1925)
Grinde‐kveld, eller Den gode engelen (Evening at Grinde, 1926)

Klas Dyregodt series

Fars reise (Father's Journey, 1930)
Sigrid Stallbrokk (1931)
Dei ukjende mennene (The Unknown Men, 1932)
Hjarta høyrer sine heimlandstonar (The Heart Hears Its Native Music, 1938)

The Great Cycle series

Det store spelet (The Great Cycle, 1934)
- Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan (University of Wisconsin Press, 1967)
Kvinnor ropar heim (Women Call Home, 1935)

Poetry

Kjeldene (The Springs, 1946)
Leiken og lynet (The Game and the Lightning, 1947)
Lykka for ferdesmenn (Wanderers’ Happiness, 1949)
Løynde eldars land (Land of Hidden Fires, 1953)
- Translated by Fritz König and Jerry Crisp (Wayne State University Press, 1973)
Ver ny, vår draum (May Our Dream Stay New, 1956)
Liv ved straumen (Life by the Stream, 1970)

Short story collections

Klokka i haugen (The Bell in the Mound, 1929)
Leiret og hjulet (The Clay and the Wheel, 1936)
Vindane (The Winds, 1952)
Ein vakker dag (A Lovely Day, 1959)

Plays

Guds bustader (God’s Abodes, 1925)
Ultimatum (1934)
Morgonvinden (Morning Wind, 1947)

References

^ "Nomination Database". www.nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
^ Gimnes, Steinar (2020-02-25), "Tarjei Vesaas", Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian Bokmål), retrieved 2020-10-21
^ Erik Bjerck Hagen. "Tarjei Vesaas". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
^ "Halldis Moren Vesaas". Aschehoug. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
^ Steinar Gimnes. "Tarjei Vesaas". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
^ "Tarjei Vesaas - Nomination Database". www.nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
^ "tarjei Vesaas (1897-1970)". Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS. Retrieved April 1, 2018.

Other sources

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

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v t e Nordic Council Literature Prize winners
1960s	1962: The Days of His Grace – Eyvind Johnson 1963: Under the North Star 3: Reconciliation – Väinö Linna 1964: The Ice Palace – Tarjei Vesaas 1965: From Hell to Paradise – Olof Lagercrantz and The Good Hope – William Heinesen 1966: Diwan on the Prince of Emgion – Gunnar Ekelöf 1967: Nye noveller – Johan Borgen 1968: Flight of the Eagle – Per Olof Sundman 1969: The Legionnaires – Per Olov Enquist
1970s	1970: Anna, I, Anna – Klaus Rifbjerg 1971: Coast of Slaves, Ships of Slaves & Islands of Slaves – Thorkild Hansen 1972: Sju ord på tunnelbanan – Karl Vennberg 1973: Kersantin poika – Veijo Meri 1974: Uden mål – og med – Villy Sørensen 1975: Siinä näkijä missä tekijä – Hannu Salama 1976: Að laufferjum & Að brunnum – Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson 1977: I de mörka rummen, i de ljusa – Bo Carpelan 1978: Dalen Portland – Kjartan Fløgstad 1979: Pubertet – Ivar Lo-Johansson
1980s	1980: Vredens barn – Sara Lidman 1981: Hauströkkrið yfir mér – Snorri Hjartarson 1982: Samuels bok – Sven Delblanc 1983: Om fjorten dage – Peter Seeberg 1984: The Christmas Oratorio – Göran Tunström 1985: A Day in Ostrobothnia – Antti Tuuri 1986: Líkasum – Rói Patursson 1987: Hudløs himmel – Herbjørg Wassmo 1988: Justice Undone – Thor Vilhjálmsson 1989: Roman 1987 – Dag Solstad
1990s	1990: For the Living and the Dead – Tomas Tranströmer 1991: The Sun, My Father – Nils-Aslak Valkeapää 1992: Night Watch – Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir 1993: Byen og verden – Peer Hultberg 1994: Blackwater – Kerstin Ekman 1995: Angels of the Universe – Einar Már Guðmundsson 1996: Hva skal vi gjøre i dag og andre noveller – Øystein Lønn 1997: Bang. En roman om Herman Bang – Dorrit Willumsen 1998: After Having Spent a Night Among Horses – Tua Forsström 1999: Queen's Gate – Pia Tafdrup
2000s	2000: Drømmebroer – Henrik Nordbrandt 2001: The Discoverer – Jan Kjærstad 2002: The Half Brother – Lars Saabye Christensen 2003: Revbensstäderna – Eva Ström 2004: Juoksuhaudantie – Kari Hotakainen 2005: The Blue Fox – Sjón 2006: The Ocean – Göran Sonnevi 2007: Drömfakulteten – Sara Stridsberg 2008: Baboon – Naja Marie Aidt 2009: I Curse the River of Time – Per Petterson
2010s	2010: Purge – Sofi Oksanen 2011: Between the Trees – Gyrðir Elíasson 2012: Days in the History of Silence – Merethe Lindstrøm 2013: The Prophets of Eternal Fjord – Kim Leine 2014: Mirage 38 – Kjell Westö 2015: Wakefulness, Olav's Dreams & Weariness – Jon Fosse 2016: Songs and Formulae – Katarina Frostenson 2017: Memories of Love – Kirsten Thorup 2018: Hotel Silence – Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir 2019: Efter Solen – Jonas Eika
2020s	2020: Who killed Bambi? – Monika Fagerholm 2021: Flower Valley – Niviaq Korneliussen 2022: Om udregning af rumfang – Solvej Balle
List of Nordic Council's Literature Prize winners and nominees