Generally considered to be the most important Norwegian prose-writer of all time, Knut Hamsun was born August 4, 1859 as Knut Pedersen in central south Norway. Until quite recently Hamsun's birthplace was assumed to have been the municipality of Lom, but his biographer Lars Frode Larsen has documented that the writer was born in the neighboring Vågå (29). However, Hamsun grew up in the county of Hamarøy in Northern Norway where his family moved when Knut was less than three years old. His father acquired a small farm there at Hamsund, the settlement whose name Knut later used to create his artistic pseudonym. The extraordinary countryside of Northern Norway left indelible marks on his soul: in his childhood years he developed a deep love for nature, which is one of the most…
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Citation: Humpal, Martin. "Knut Hamsun". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1966, accessed 24 November 2024.]
