Andreas Paulson (16 February 1861 – 1 March 1953) was a Norwegian bank accountant, and also a

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

and

theatre critic Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera. Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas the ...

. He was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

as the son of politician

Olav Paulssøn Olav Paulssøn (1822–1896) was a Norwegian bailiff, writer and politician. Career He served as a deputy representative to the Storting, Norwegian Parliament in 1859, representing the constituency of Sogn og Fjordane, Nordre Bergenhus Amt. He li ...

(1822–1896) and Anna Kristine Christofa Hagerup (1824–1917). His family had moved from

Jølster Jølster is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre was the vil ...

the year before he was born, and Paulson spent most of his life in Bergen. He married Amalia Marie Geist in October 1888. He was a younger brother of

Ragnvald Paulson Paul Ragnvald Paulson (1858–1926) was a Norwegian book publisher and politician for the Labour Party. Biography He hailed from Bergen. He was the son of politician Olav Paulssøn (1822–1896) and Anna Kristine Christofa Hagerup (1824–191 ...

. Paulson did not finish his secondary education, but he spent formative years in the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

movement and later the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

. In 1895 he was hired as a literary and theatre critic in the socialist newspaper ''

Arbeidet ''Arbeidet'' ("The Work") was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Bergen in Hordaland county. History and profile ''Arbeidet'' was started in Bergen as a socialist newspaper on 6 December 1893, by a grouping called . It was the first socialist ...

''. From 1898 he was also a music critic. He worked here until 1929, and then in ''

Bergens Arbeiderblad ''Bergensavisen'' (lit. "the Bergen newspaper"), usually shortened to ''BA'', is the second largest newspaper in Bergen, Norway. The paper is published in tabloid format. The newspaper's webpage ba.no is Bergen's largest local newspaper webpage. ...

'' from 1929 to 1941 with a second period after World War II. He also wrote humorous texts, both in ''Bergens Arbeiderblad'' and ''

Hvepsen ( Norwegian: "The Wasp") was a Norwegian humorous and satirical magazine which was in circulation between 1905 and 1926. History and profile was founded in 1905 by people involved in the labour movement in Kristiania, including John Johansen, ...

''. The newspaper ''Arbeidet'' both belonged to the Labour Party (from 1905) and the Communist Party (from 1923) while Paulson worked in the newspaper, but as he was not involved in

party politics ''Party Politics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of political science. The journal's editor is Paul Webb of the University of Sussex, UK. It has been in publication since 1995 and is currently published b ...

, he was not affected by the schism between the two parties. His roots was in the labour movement as such, and he was widely known for his book ''Hvad skal Arbeiderne læse?'' (1914), where he sought to propagate the interest of literature in the working class. He believed in the concept of

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

as a driving force in history, but also in the refinement and actions of

individuals An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

; being described by professor Harald Beyer as "an independent individualist". Nonetheless, he was also involved in more bourgeois endeavors, being a consultant for the theatre

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene () is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has roots dating back to its ...

from 1928 to 1933. He also contributed to the biographical dictionary ''

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...

'', and supported

Riksmål (, also , ) is an unofficial written Norwegian language form or spelling standard, meaning the ''National Language'', closely related and now almost identical to the dominant form of Bokmål, known as . Both Bokmål and Riksmål evolved from t ...

as a written form of the Norwegian language. Parallel to his writing career, he worked for the

Bank of Norway Norges Bank (, , ) is the central bank of Norway. It is responsible for managing the Government Pension Fund of Norway, which is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, as well as the bank's own foreign exchange reserves. History The histor ...

, being an accountant in its

branch from 1901 until his retirement in 1929. He was honored with a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

on his ninetieth birthday. He died in March 1953 in Bergen. He was a grandfather of

Finn Ludt Finn Ludt (16 November 1918 – 3 August 1992) was a Norwegian pianist, composer and music critic. He was born in Fana. He made his concert debut in Bergen in 1945. He composed several songs, including "Blåklokkevikua", "Blåbærturen" and ...

and

Bjørn Paulson Bjørn Andreas Paulson (21 June 1923 – 14 January 2008) was a Norwegian high jumper and jurist. He was a grandson of Andreas Paulson. He was born in Bergen, but represented the club IL Skjalg. At the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulson, Andreas 1861 births 1953 deaths Norwegian literary critics Norwegian theatre critics Journalists from Bergen