Tarjei Vesaas

Anja Tröger (University of Edinburgh)

Ed. by Anja Tröger, University of Edinburgh
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.5: Norwegian Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London), Anja Tröger (University of Edinburgh)

Dates

Born 20 Aug 1897
Died 15 Mar 1970
Activity 1923-1970

Places

Active in Norway

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Poet

Resources

Vesaas' Works

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Possibly one of the foremost Norwegian exponents of modernist prose fiction in the twentieth century, Tarjei Vesaas was born on 20 August 1897, as the oldest of three sons on a farm in the parish of Vinje in Telemark. Vesaas’ parents were freeholder farmers who had been farming in Vinje for nine generations; as the oldest son, it was expected of Vesaas to take over the farm, but he refused, and, after finishing the Folk High School in Voss, he decided to become a full-time writer instead. The guilt that this decision brought with it is strongly reflected in some of Vesaas’ writing.

Vesaas had his debut in 1923, with the novel Menneskebonn [Children of Humans], and he went on to become a prolific writer, publishing 38 works, including novels, short story collections, poetry

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2470 words

Citation: Tröger, Anja. "Tarjei Vesaas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 May 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14943, accessed 31 October 2024.]