Harald Ulrik Sverdrup (29 May 1923 – 26 June 1992) was a Norwegian poet and children's writer. He received several literary prizes, including the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature, the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment, the Dobloug Prize and the

Riksmål Society Literature Prize The Riksmål Society Literature Prize (''Riksmålsforbundets litteraturpris'') is awarded annually by the '' Riksmålsforbundet'' for the outstanding publication in riksmål. The prize was awarded until 2002 by the ''Oslo and Bærum Riksmål League ...

Early and personal life

Sverdrup was born in Gravdal in Buksnes Municipality ( Lofoten), as a son of medical doctor Harald Ulrik Sverdrup (1890–1976) and Berit Johanne Strandenæs (1896–1961). He was related to bishop and politician Jakob Sverdrup, who was his great-uncle, and to oceanographer Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Jr, who was his first cousin once removed. Other first cousins once removed are Leif Sverdrup, Georg Johan Sverdrup and philologist Jakob Sverdrup. He was also a great-grandson of Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Sr, a grandnephew of Jakob Sverdrup, Georg Sverdrup and Edvard Sverdrup, and a second cousin of historian Jakob Sverdrup. He spent his early childhood in Lofoten, Risør, Hvitsten, and Rjukan, and later in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he participated in resistance work in Norway, until he fled to Sweden and Great Britain in 1944. He joined as ground crew at the Norwegian Spitfire Wing, and participated at the war front in Belgium, Holland and Germany. He was married to Jorunn Elset from 1950 to 1954, and to his first cousin Mari Ulstrup from 1954. The couple lived at Kalbakken and Stokke.

Literary career

Sverdrup made his literary debut in 1948 with the poetry collection . His literary breakthrough came with the collection from 1958, which earned him the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature. He issued the collection of children's poetry in 1958. He received the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment in 1959. During the 1960s he issued the poetry collections (1961), (1964) and (1969), and the prose books (1965) and (1968). In the 1970s he issued the poetry collections (1971) and (1974). He received the Dobloug Prize in 1978, and the

in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sverdrup, Harald 1923 births 1992 deaths People from Vestvågøy 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Norwegian children's writers Norwegian resistance members Royal Norwegian Air Force personnel of World War II Dobloug Prize winners 20th-century Norwegian male writers