Arvid Hanssen (28 July 1932 – 31 July 1998) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor, poet, novelist and children's writer.

Biography

Hanssen was born in Vika at Indre Senja in

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by ...

. He completed Finnsnes High School in 1948. He graduated from Moldenæs University College in

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the 21s ...

in 1951. Hanssen became as a journalist in 1957. He became the editor of the newspaper ''Senjens Blad'' from 1957 to 1962. From 1963 he was editor of the magazine ''Midnattsol''. In 1972, Hanssen became a full-time author and song writer. His songs reached a wide audience through

Tove Karoline Knutsen Tove Karoline Knutsen (born 14 January 1951 in Torsken) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Troms in 2005. She graduated as cand.philol. in 1982, and spent large parts of her care ...

's 1980 album ''Blå kveill'', which was based on Hanssen's lyrics. He received a number of prizes, including the Prøysen Prize in 1982, The Fritt Ord Honorary Award in 1984, and the Cappelen Prize in 1985. He was married in 1958 with Ingebjørg Langhaug. He was the father of freelance journalist Arne Ivar Hanssen and author Sigrid Merethe Hanssen. He died at Dyrøy in Troms.

Lenvik Lenvik ( sme, Leaŋgáviika) is a former municipality that was located in the old Troms county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was partly situated on the mainland and partly on the isla ...

municipality named Arvid Hanssens plass after him. A bust of the writer is located outside the cultural centre in

Finnsnes Finnsnes () is a small town that is the administrative centre of Senja Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The town is located on the mainland part of Norway, just across the Gisundet strait from the island of Senja. The Gisund Br ...

References

1932 births 1998 deaths People from Lenvik Norwegian newspaper editors 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Norwegian children's writers 20th-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian male novelists 20th-century Norwegian male writers {{Norway-writer-stub