Contemporary literature
In recent years writers of
avant garde prose have expressed doubts as to whether the language or the story are at all capable of grasping reality, leading to the development of a new awareness of writing, focusing specifically on language and genre and clearly distinguishing the younger generation from the elder. This has resulted in the liberal use of writing styles and genres from earlier periods, to the extent that new texts often appear to be a patchwork of interwoven styles from the literature of the past. One noteworthy new writer working within this technique is Jon Fosse (b 1959), who focuses particularly on epic drama. Others worth mentioning in this context include Cecilie Løveid (b 1951), Sissel Lie (b 1942) and Karin Moe (b 1945).
In the realm of poetry, the modernist idiom of the 1970s and 1980s remains the principal genre used and in the 1990s old modernists such as Rolf Jacobsen (1907-1994) and Olav H Hauge (1908-1994) consolidated their position to become Norway’s leading poets. However, there also emerged a strong group of female poets who experimented with a specifically female poetic language, for instance Eldrid Lunden (b 1940) and Gro Dahle (b 1962).
The period from the 1960s up to recent times also witnessed a renaissance in Norwegian literature for children and young adults. Long-established authors of children’s books such as Thorbjørn Egner (1912-1990), Anne Cath Vestly (b 1920) and Alf Prøysen (1914-1970) were joined by new writers of significance such as Tormod Haugen (b 1945), Torill Thorstad Hauger (b 1943) and Tor Fretheim (b 1946).
Norwegian literature attained international acclaim in the 1990s with a topical novel spun around the history of philosophy entitled Sofies verden (‘Sophie’s World’), written by Jostein Gaarder (b 1952). With this work, which was translated into 40 languages, Gaarder reached a larger audience worldwide than any other Norwegian author since Ibsen or Hamsun. Other noteworthy writers with an international profile include Erik Fosnes Hansen (b 1965, Hymn at Voyage End), and Jan Kjœrstad (b 1953, The Seducer, first of a trilogy). Åsne Seierstad's controversial work, The Bookseller of Kabul, was among the 10 books short-listed for the Best Read of 2003, part of the British Book Awards.
