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Sigurd Evensmo (14 February 1912 – 17 October 1978) was a Norwegian author and journalist.
- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 November 2002.
Sigurd Evensmo (14 February 1912 – 17 October 1978) was a Norwegian author and journalist.- Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 November 2002.
Career
He was born inHamar
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. ...
. In his younger years he was active in Clarté, a student organization at 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 ...
and in contact with Mot Dag
(, 'Towards Day') was a Norway, Norwegian political group. The group was active from the 1920s to the early 1930s and was first affiliated with the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party until 1925. After World War II, many of its former members were ...
, a forum among the social democratic students (later the Student's Communist Organization). He then joined the Workers' Youth League and worked actively with them. He began as a journalist apprentice with ''Hamar Arbeiderblad
''Hamar Arbeiderblad'' (often referred to locally as "HA") is local newspaper published in Hamar, Norway by Hamar Media. The paper is edited by Carsten Bleness. HA was one of the first newspapers to place the internet edition of a newspaper behin ...
'' and continued as a journalist in many weekly workers papers including '' Tiden'' in Arendal
Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...
, ''Fremtiden
''Fremtiden'' was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Drammen, Norway, between 1905 and 2000. It was an official publication of Norwegian Labour Party in Buskerud.
History and profile
''Fremtiden'' was started in 1905. Its first editor was Torge ...
'' in Drammen
Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...
and '' Arbeidernes Pressekontor'' 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 ...
. Finally in 1939 he began to work for the ''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 ...
''.
During the war Evensmo was active with the resistance and he wrote for the illegal paper, ''Bulletinen'' until he was forced into hiding and finally to flee from Norway. From 1953 through 1959 he was the editor for the paper ''Orientering
''Orientering'' was a Norwegian newspaper which was initially published in December 1952 as an alternative voice. It was absorbed into ''Ny Tid'' in 1975.
There were many reasons for establishing the newspaper, but the most important was perhap ...
''. He served as film critic for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company.
The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
(NRK) from 1948 until 1962.
Before the Second World War
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 had written a play, ''Konflikt'', in 1934. His first novel, published in 1945, was ''Englandsfarere''. The theme of the book was based on Evensmo's personal experiences during the war. His trilogy consisting of ''Grenseland'' (1947), ''Flaggermusene'' (1949) and ''Hjemover'' (1951) are recognized as a major example of Norwegian post-war literature, and explore the social and psychological differences between the country and city cultures as well as the intellectual development of workers between the wars. Evensmo won the ''Kritikerprisen'' for the books, and at the close of the 1970s, the trilogy was produced for television by NRK. His novels ''Gåten fra år null'', ''Femten døgn med Gordona'' and ''Miraklet på Blindern'' can all be categorized as science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
; Evensmo was among the first to write in this genre in Norway. He also wrote the scripts for many films.
Prizes and recognition
*1951 -Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (''Den norske Kritikerprisen for litteratur'' or ''Kritikerprisen'') is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association (''Norsk Litteraturkritikerlag'') and has been awarded every year since 1950 ...
for the trilogy novels ''Grenseland'', ''Flaggermusene'' and ''Hjemover''
*1976 - Gyldendal's Endowment
The Gyldendal Prize, formerly Gyldendal's Endowment, is a Norwegian literary prize awarded by the Norway, Norwegian publisher Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. Gyldendal's Endowment was awarded from 1934 to 1995. It was superseded by the Gyldendal Prize in ...
*1977 - Nominated for The Nordic Council's Literature Prize
The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...
(''Nordisk Råds litteraturpris'') for the novel ''Inn i din tid''
Works
Books
*1945 ''Englandsfarere'', novel *1946 ''Oppbrudd etter midnatt'', novel *1947 ''Grenseland'', novel *1949 ''Flaggermusene'', novel *1951 ''Hjemover'', novel *1954 ''Glassveggen'', collection of stories *1955 ''Trollspeilet: streiftokt i film'' *1956 ''Østenfor vest og vestenfor øst: Jugoslavia under Tito'' *1956 ''Gåten fra år null'', novel *1962 ''Femten døgn med Gordona'', novel *1964 ''Feider og finter'' *1966 ''Miraklet på Blindern'', novel *1967 ''Det store tivoli: film og kino i Norge gjennom 70 år'' *1968 ''Norske forfattere i krig og fred:Den Norske forfatterforening
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 ...
1940-1968'', written with Alex Brinchmann
Alexander Brinchmann (15 June 1888 – 18 April 1978) was a Norwegian pediatrician. He was also a songwriter, novelist, playwright and crime fiction writer. He chaired the Norwegian Pediatric Society from 1933 to 1934 and the Norwegian Autho ...
*1969 ''Vold i filmene: ett års kinoprogrammer i Norge og noen perspektiver''
*1970 ''Observasjoner'', essay collection
*1971 ''Den nakne sannheten: sex i filmene''
*1974 ''Gyldendal og gyldendøler''
*1976 ''Inn i din tid''
*1978 ''Ut i kulda''
Drama
*1934 ''Konflikt'', play *1952 ''Fredsprisen'', radio play *1955 '' Blodveien'', film script *1981 ''Stengetid'', playReferences