Aslaug Vaa (25 August 1889 – 28 November 1965) was a Norwegian poet and playwright. Her works contain elements from local tradition and landscape mixed with international influence.

Personal life

Aslaug Vaa was born on Nystog in

Rauland Rauland is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Vinje Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Raulandsgrend (also known ...

, in

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

county, Norway. She was the daughter of farmers Tor Aanundsson Vaa and Anne Marie Roholt, and was a sister of sculptor Dyre Vaa. She was married to Norwegian psychologist and writer Ola Raknes, and she was the mother of

Magli Elster Magli Elster (née Raknes; 21 November 1912 – 11 May 1993) was a Norwegian psychoanalyst, literary critic, poet and translator. She received the Fritt Ord Award, jointly with her husband Torolf Elster. Personal life Elster was born in th ...

Literary career

Vaa graduated with

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

from Aars og Voss skole in Kristiania in 1909, and with "anneneksamen" from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

in 1911. After her first studies, she produced works as journalist and translator, including for the magazine '' Den 17de Mai''. While spending longer periods abroad together with her husband, she studied arts at Sorbonne in Paris, and experimental theatre in Berlin. Vaa made her literary debut in 1934 with the poetry collection ''Nord i leite'', and she followed up with the collections ''Skuggen og strendan'' (1935), ''Villarkonn'' (1936), and ''På vegakanten'' (1939). Her poem ''So rodde dei fjordan'' ("then they rowed the fjords") was frequently recited on radio, has been selected for several anthologies, and was made into a song with melody by

Geirr Tveitt Geirr Tveitt (born Nils Tveit; 19 October 1908 – 1 February 1981) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Tveitt was a central figure of the national movement in Norwegian cultural life during the 1930s. Life Early years Tveitt was born in Be ...

. Vaa's poetry and writing contains elements from local tradition, landscape and language, but also international influence."Om Aslaug Vaa: -- Ein ekte poet"
– ''Dag og Tid'' (Retrieved on 8 February 2008) Her first play, ''Steinguden'' (1938) is treating marriage-related issues. Her second play, ''Tjugendagen'' (1947) is set in a rural society around 1850. ''Honningfuglen og leoparden'' (first staged in 1955) is inspired from African legends. Vaa contributed articles to several newspapers and magazines, including ''

Arbeiderbladet is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. Eirik Hoff Lys ...

'', ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'' and .

Selected bibliography

Plays

* 1938 ''Steinguden'' * 1947 ''Tjugendagen'' * 1965 ''Honningfuglen og leoparden'' * 1966 ''Munkeklokka''

Poetry

* 1934 ''Nord i leite'' * 1935 ''Skuggen og strendan'' * 1936 ''Villarkonn'' * 1939 ''På vegakanten'' * 1947 ''Fotefár'' * 1954 ''Skjenkarsveinens visur''ry * 1963 ''Bustader''

References

Other sources

* Mæhle, Leif (2001) ''Fann eg dei stigar…» Vandringar i Aslaug Vaas dikting'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)

External links

NRK - Aslaug Vaa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaa, Aslaug 1889 births 1965 deaths People from Vinje Nynorsk-language writers 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian women poets Norwegian women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Norwegian women writers