Arne Garborg

Arne Garborg, born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg (January 25, 1851, Time, Norway - January 14, 1924) was a Norwegian writer. He was married to Hulda Garborg.

Garborg championed the use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian), as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into it. He founded the weekly "Fedraheim" in 1877, in which he urged reforms in many spheres including political, social, religious, agrarian, and linguistic.

Life and career

Garborg grew up on a farm named Garborg, near Undheim, in Time municipality at Jæren in Rogaland county. He grew up together with eight siblings. Although he was to become known as an author, it was as a newspaperman that he got his start. In 1872 he established the newspaper Tvedestrandsposten, and in 1877 the Fedraheimen, which he edited until 1892. In the 1880s he was also a journalist for the Dagbladet. In 1894 he laid the ground, together with Rasmus Steinsvik, for the paper "Den 17de Mai";Norway's independence day.] which changed its name to Norsk Tidend in 1935.

His novels are profound and gripping while his essays are clear and insightful. He was never inclined to steer clear of controversy. His work tackled the issues of the day, including the relevance of religion in modern times, the conflicts between national and European identity, and the ability of the common people to actually participate in political processes and decisions.

Bibliography

* "Ein Fritenkjar" (1878)
* "Bondestudentar" (1883)
* "Forteljingar og Sogar" (1884)
* "Mannfolk" (1886)Confiscated.]
* "Uforsonlige" (1888)
* "Hjaa ho Mor" (1890)
* "Kolbotnbrev" (1890) (Letters)
* "Trætte Mænd" (1891) (published in English as "Tired Men" or "Weary Men")
* "Fred" (1892) (published in English as "Peace")
* "Jonas Lie. En Udviklingshistorie" (1893)
* "Haugtussa" (1895) (Poetry)
* "Læraren" (1896)
* "Den burtkomme Faderen" (1899) (published in English as "The Lost Father")
* "I Helheim" (1901)
* "Knudahei-brev" (1904) (Letters)
* "Jesus Messias" (1906)
* "Heimkomin Son" (1906)
* "Dagbok 1905-1923" (1925–1927) (Diary)
* "Tankar og utsyn" (1950) (Essays)

Quotations

"It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food but not appetite; medicine, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything, but not the kernel."Editorial. "The Weekender Newspaper." Cluny, Alberta, Canada, March 4, 2005.]

Notes

References

"The Literary Masters of Norway, with samples of their works", introduced by Carl Henrik Grøndahl and Nina Tjomsland; Tanum-Norli, Oslo 1978

External links

* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/G/Garborg.asp Arne Garborg, Columbia Encyclopedia]
* [http://biphome.spray.se/torstein21/haugtussa.html Haugtussa ] at biphome.spray.se is a link to the text of Garborg's cycle of poems "Haugtussa", which celebrates the landscape of Jæderen, where he grew up, and where he also built his study house "Knudaheio".
*no icon [http://www.dokpro.uio.no/litteratur/garborg/ link to all his works, at UiO.no]