Karin Sveen (born 17 August 1948) is a Norwegian poet, novelist and essayist.

Early and personal life

Sveen was born in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

. She attended Hamar Cathedral School, and studied at the teachers' college at Hamar and 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 ...

. She worked as schoolteacher from 1975 to 1979, and thereafter as writer full time.

Literary career

Sveen made her literary debut in 1975 with the poetry collection ''Vinterhagen''. Critics compared her with poet

Hans Børli Hans Børli (8 December 1918 – 26 August 1989) was a Norwegian poet and writer, who besides his writings worked as a lumberjack all his life. Biography Hans Georg Nilsen Børli was born in Eidskog Municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. H ...

, mentioning similar relation to nature, plants and animals. In her next collection, ''Mjøsa går'' from 1976, she wrote poetry using

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

dialect. Further collections are ''Den svarte hane'' from 1977, ''Kroppens sug, hjertets savn'' (1985), ''Tegnebok'' (1989) and ''Nye dikt'' (1996). Her prose includes the short story collection ''Døtre'' from 1980, ''Utbryterdronninga'' (1982), ''Den reddende engelen'' (1984), and the novel ''Kvinnen som forsvant'' (1987). In the novel ''Hannas hus'' (1991), the title figure Hanna is modeled after leader of the "Suttung" movement

Ingeborg Refling Hagen Ingeborg Refling Hagen (19 December 1895 – 30 October 1989) was a Norwegian author, poet, and artistic director. Her writings and activities in support of the arts made her a significant cultural figure in Norway during much of the 20th centur ...

. Her next novel was ''Maria Waters verden'' (1993). In 1997 she published the essay collection ''Den kulturelle lidelse. En bok om kropp og samfunn'', and her second collection, ''Klassereise'', came in 2000. Her essay collection ''Frokost med fremmede'' (2005) was well received by the critics. Her book from 2011, ''Mannen i Montgomery Street – portrett av en norsk emigrant'', is a biography of

Peder Sather Peder Sather (September 25, 1810 – December 28, 1886) was a Norwegian-born American banker who is best known for his legacy to the University of California, Berkeley. His widow, Jane K. Sather, donated money in his memory for two of the sc ...

from Odal in Hedmark, who emigrated to the United States and settled in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Sveen has been a board member of the

Norwegian Authors' Union The Norwegian Authors' Union (, DnF) is an association of Norwegian authors. It was established in 1893 to promote Norwegian literature and protect Norwegian authors' professional and economic interests. DnF also works in solidarity with persecu ...

, and was a member of the authors' union's literary council. She was awarded the

Cappelen Prize The Cappelen Prize () is a Norwegian literary award that was established in 1979 by J.W. Cappelens Forlag, one of the oldest publishing houses of Norway, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the publishing house. It has not been awarded aft ...

in 1984, and the ''Norsk språkpris'' in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sveen, Karin 1948 births Living people People from Hamar 20th-century Norwegian poets 20th-century Norwegian novelists 21st-century Norwegian novelists Norwegian women novelists Norwegian women essayists Norwegian women poets 21st-century Norwegian women writers 20th-century Norwegian women writers 20th-century Norwegian essayists 21st-century Norwegian essayists