Aase Foss Abrahamsen (; 27 August 1930 – 7 May 2023) was a Norwegian writer. She primarily wrote for children and young adults, but also books for adults. Her book ''Ikke deg denne gang'' from 1978 was awarded the

Norwegian Ministry of Culture The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality (; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the media and sports, and equality and non-discrimination. ...

's prize for children's literature, and ''Videre lille kvinne'' from 1981 earned her the Damm prize. She received the cultural prize from the city of

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

in 1986.

Early life and education

Aase Dommerud was born in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

on 27 August 1930, to editor Ole Aasten Dommerud and nurse Jenny Bakken. When she was eight, she moved with her family to

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

. Her mother died when she was twelve. Dommerud graduated as cand.philol. in history from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1956.

Literary career

Foss Abrahamsen made her literary debut in 1971 with the children's book ''Håkon slalåmkjører'' ("Haakon the alpine skier"). Further books are ''Blomster fra Hiroshima'' ("Flowers from

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

") from 1972, ''Kan ikke akkurat gå, men ...'' ("Can not really walk, but ...") (1974), and ''Hvis jeg kunne bestemme'' ("If I could rule") from 1977. Her 1978 book, ''Ikke deg denne gang'' ("Not you this time"), was awarded the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

's prize for children's literature and literature for young adults. The book handles about the love between Lene and Leif, who has contracted cancer and eventually dies. ''Videre lille kvinne'' ("Move on, little woman") from 1981 treats the subjects of unwanted

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

and

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. The book was awarded from N. W. Damm & Søn. Her books for adults include ''For sterk, Birgitte'' ("Too strong, Birgitte") from 1982, ''Fuglen og den hvite duken'' ("The bird and the little cloth"), and ''Alltid de andre'' ("Always the others") from 1988. In 1986 she was awarded the cultural prize from the city of

, for her literary works. Her books from the 1990s include ''Timian Love'' (1993), on reactions to a suicide attempt, ''Ingen vet'' ("Nobody knows") (1994), a collection of short stories for young adults, and ''Ingenmannsland'' ("No man's land") (1996), a short story collection for children. Taking part in organizational work, Foss Abrahamsen was a member of the literary council of the

Norwegian Writers for Children The Norwegian Writers for Children (, NBU) was founded in 1947. The association, composed of authors who write fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (nar ...

, as well as vice chair of the board. She also chaired the board of the Office for Norwegian Literature Abroad, .

Personal life and death

Aase Dommerud married physician Arne Tellef Foss Abrahamsen in 1953, and together they had five children. Foss Abrahamsen died in

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

on 7 May 2023, at age 92.

Selected works

*''Håkon slalåmkjører'' (1971) *''Ikke deg denne gang '' (1978) *''Videre lille kvinne'' (1981) *''For sterk, Birgitte'' (1982) * ''Fuglen og den hvite duken'' (1985) *''En dag med sol'' (1987) * ''Alltid de andre'' (1988) *''Timian love'' (1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foss Abrahamsen, Aase 1930 births 2023 deaths Writers from Drammen University of Oslo alumni Norwegian children's writers Norwegian women children's writers