Literary landscapes - selected Northern Norwegian authors

Northern Norway has fostered Petter Dass, Knut Hamsun, Cora Sandel and Herbjørg Wassmo. The greatest contemporary authors, such as Lars Saabye Christensen and Roy Jacobsen, have also created world literature during their periods in the north. There is no shortage of local talent either. Join us on a literary journey northwards!

It’s easy to be captivated by the nature and culture of the north of the country, but how to put the experiences into words? Let’s dive into the world of literature. Literary landscapes depicted by world-class authors, with local affiliation or good insight into local conditions. Painters from home and abroad have been inspired by the rich coastal culture and contrasting nature of our northernmost part of the country for centuries. The same applies to writers from the south and north.

Actor Per Kjerstad performs world literature from the north. Photo: Roger Johansen / nordnorge.com

Look north.
More often.
This country is far.
Most of it is north
“North” poem by Rolf Jacobsen (1985)

The famous stanzas from Rolf Jacobsen‘s (1907-1994) popular poem Nord from 1985 are a fitting introduction to a text about literature from Northern Norway. Jacobsen writes about the northern region’s wintry flaming sky and the glowing light of the midnight sun. “The North is best,” says the poem, which is about encountering nature in all its variety.

The search for the written word from the North

En morgenstund i Nord-Norge: Alt er kaldt og grått, mørkt og rått. Vesterålens tinder skjuler seg bak tett tåke. Men plutselig: På et par sekunder lokkes fjellene fram av lyset. Sein soloppgang gir dramatisk effekt. Varme, duse farger tegner bratte berg som stiger opp fra havet. Det er som en langsom avduking av en voldsom skulptur. Det norske flagget med posthornet bakerst på skipet vaier ekstra stolt i vinden og maner fram spontan nasjonalromantikk. Været veksler og varierer. Sterk sol, lave, grå skyer. De pittoreske havnene med fargerike bygninger innerst i fjordene under mektige fjell gir en fornemmelse av å bli hensatt til enklere og ubebygde tider, langt, langt borte – nærmest ved verdens ende.

01: Kjerringøy Trading Post, the queen of the Nordland coast. Photo: Ernst Furuhatt / Nordlandsmuseet

02: Kjerringøy Archives. Photo: Ernst Furuhatt / Nordlandsmuseet

03: Petter Dass at Alstadhaug. Photo: Bård Løken / nordnorge.com

04: Petter Dass © Kaare-Espolin-Johnson / BONO

05: The Petter Dass centre, the onion-shaped steeple and the Petter Dass memorial. Photo: Erlend Haarberg / Visit Helgeland

06: Inside the rectory. Photo: Petter Dass Museum

It is a modern sea voyage, but the surroundings are the same that made the Baroque poet Petter Dass (1647-1707) blow his nordlandic trumpet at the end of the 17th century, in his famous tribute to this very region:

I join Vesteraalen,
To seek its Isles and calm weather,
Its Rocks and Clumps and dangerous Skerries,
How they twist and bend.
Petter Dass, from “Nordland Trumpet” (1739).

The priest of Alstadhaug on the Helgeland coast intended to praise God’s creation, and it is indeed easy to become sacred when the Hurtigruten slowly glides through the sea between Vesterålen and Lofoten amidst the heartland of Norwegian nature. Before the ship turns inland at Andenes, the cormorant floats unperturbed in the still sea. A pair of killer whales break the surface as if greeting the passing craft, while bright red fishermen’s huts on land almost demand to be photographed.

Nordlands Trumpet was published in 1739, and is a vivid depiction of both the nature and the people of Nordland, while the religious message in the Catechism Songs from 1715 is considered his most important publication. The commentary on Luther’s Catechism became very popular in its time, and contributed greatly to stimulating the rise of the art of printing and the art of reading. Read more about him at the Petter Dass Museum.

The cultural travel suitcase

This article is one of several as a follow-up to Bodø 2024 – European Capital of Culture.

Read your favorite book, listen to your favorite artist and experience your favorite piece of art on this journey through our region:

The Land of Light – selected Northern Norwegian painters

Coastal Culture

The Sound of North – selected Northern Norwegian artists

Bodø og Salten

Bodø 2024 – European Capital of Culture

Culture and history

Å eg veit meg et land, langt oppe der nord

Nature and the Bible were also the sources of inspiration for Elias Blix (1836-1902) from Sandhornøya in Gildeskål just south of Bodø. The theologian, politician and hymn writer, who is known for the hymn No livnar det i lundar, often found motifs and stories from the Bible and transferred them to a Norwegian coastal landscape. His “Childhood Memories from Nordland” from 1896 is a declaration of love for Nordland:

Oh, I know a land, far up there to the north
with a shining shore, between high mountains and fjords.
Where I am a happy guest, where my heart is bound
with the finest, finest ties.
Oh, I remember, I remember, so well this land!
Elias Blix fra hans «Childhood memory from Nordland / Oh, I know a country» (1896)

Childhood memories from Nordland have become one of our national anthems in the North. This has not least been ensured by Bodø/Glimt’s big supporter, Halvdan Sivertsen. Before every home game at Aspmyra and at away games around Europe, this “national anthem” resounds before his own Every time we meet, it is sung by excited northerners, both performed with pride for their region, people and team:

The Nobel Prize is coming home

Knut Hamsun (1859-1952) hardly needs any further introduction. One of the true legends in Norwegian literary history was born in Gudbrandsdalen, but moved with his family to Hamarøy in Nordland when he was three years old. It was here that he grew up, and the ballast from a childhood in traditional coastal culture became an important element in his writing. Hamsun’s depictions of Nordland are frequent features in his writing, from Pan (1894) to August (1930), where the metaphors in nature are clear:

There was a rock far out, it lay alone, when the sea roared up this rock, it rose like a mad screw, no, like a sea god who rose wet into the air and looked out over the world, snorting so that his hair and beard stood like a wheel around his head.
From the novel “Pan” (1894) by Knut Hamsun

Hamsunsenteret er en “slagmark for usynlige krefter”

Knut Hamsun

For a deeper dive into Hamsun’s northern Norwegian world, Nils Magne Knutsen’s publication Knut Hamsun og Nordland. The long way home from 2006 will be interesting reading. The Hamsun expert will show how the great author used northern Norwegian material in his literature. It is also worth taking a trip to the Hamsun Center in scenic surroundings by the Glimma sea stream in Hamarøy to see an exhibition that explores the author’s controversial life and literature – and at the same time gives a sense of what may have inspired him to become a writer.

The one who really kicked off his writing career was the merchant Erasmus K. Zahl at Kjerringøy Handelssted, who gave Hamsun a relatively large loan in 1879. Whereupon the budding author promised Zahl that he would “intertwine our names together”, which he did to the fullest extent. The sane temperance and merchant had far from the same “black soul” as the novel character Ferdinand Mack, as many believe. Many of the films from his novels have in any case been filmed on Kjerringøy, which to this day immediately takes you back to his novels written more than 100 years earlier.

01: The exhibition "Hamsun in film and pictures" at Kjerringøy. Photo: Tone Sandvik / Zahlfjøsen Galleri

03: Coastal culture at Kjerringøy Old Trading Post. Photo: Ernst Furuhatt / Nordlandsmuseet

04: Hamsun's works © Hamsunsenteret

Hamsun was disappointed that his popular 1894 novel Pan did not win any major literary awards, but he would receive his recognition a few years later. When The Growth of the Earth was published in 1917, it was perceived as a tribute to nature and the simple life, but it can also be interpreted as an account of Northern Norway’s modernization era, women’s struggles, and the tension between the indigenous population and modern times. The book, which is undoubtedly Hamsun’s best-known publication, received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920.

Did you know that Mark Knopfler was very inspired by Knut Hamsun?

The Telegraph Route is a central part of the Nordland Route, where it passes the Arctic Circle over Saltfjellet. Building the first telephone line over this mountain range was a historic development at the end of the 19th century. These first modern constructions out into nature were also a symbolic happening in Knut Hamsun’s Nobel-winning novel Markens Grøde from 1917. Hamsun wrote this novel from various locations around Nordland, including in Saltdal where this telegraph route was completed. Songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits was greatly inspired by Hamsun, and took the first lyrics from his novel into their song Telegraph Road in 1982:

Working people and women into northern literature

It is not only Nordland’s own poets who wandered around the region’s mountainous and coastal landscapes. Pelle Molin (1864-1896) left his homeland in Ådalen in Sweden at a time when he felt unsuccessful and frustrated, and joined an acquaintance who was on a trip north. In the border mountains they stayed with the Sami, and observed how wolves and “foot-and-mouth disease” ravaged the herd and how the Sami lived with their losses. When he later wrote from Lofoten, he recalled how they were treated like emperors in the mountain villages:

Trout, roe, myrbärsgröt, gräddgröt, butter, mjölk, grouse, ducks, moose, reindeer and many other delicacies. Yes, these mountain tracts!
Pelle Molin followed the route of the migrating Sámi from Jamtland to Helgeland

Pelle Molin eventually came to Sulitjelma (called Sulis in “Swedish”), and stayed there for half a year. Sulitjelma Gruber hired him to make paintings from the site, but after a while decided to expel him from the work site. The reason for the expulsion was that he had written critical articles in Swedish newspapers about the conditions for the workers in Sulis. A major uprising was in the offing, depicted through the film “Sulis 1907”, in which Sulitjelma sparked the workers’ uprising. “Ådalens Poet” actually wanted to become a painter and found his painterly area in the Sami mountain world with waterfalls and water, but he was too self-critical and would eventually achieve greater success as a word artist.

After his expulsion from Sulis, he ended up in Bodø, where it caused a stir that an artist who could tell stories from abroad had come to the city. Pelle Molin was included in the society life in Bodø, and he enjoyed his new life in the north. He was charismatic and charming, and could captivate his listeners with stories, especially young women in the city. After another mountain trip in Sulitjelma, he caught a cold, after which he went to stay with the photographer Louise Engen in Bodø, where her sister Marie was watching over his summer love. He died in the spring of 1896, and it led to great sorrow in the city, but the circumstances are unclear.

01: Pelle Molin. Foto: Ukjent / Svenske Riksarkivet

02: "Pelle Molins Død" av forfatter Jan Oscar Bodogaard, Forenkla Forlag. Foto: Roger Johansen / nordnorge.com

His critical attitude towards the mining company, and his pro-Norwegian stance on union politics had raised concerns among Swedish authorities. Could his death be due to circumstances other than the cold? Read more about this in the new book “Pelle Molin’s death” by Jan Oscar Bodøgaard. In the autumn of 1906, a new tombstone was erected on Pelle Molin’s grave above the city beach Breivika in Bodø – this city facing the sea. The new tombstone was financed by collections in Sweden. After his death, the book Ådalens poesi was published in Sweden, and he became nationally known almost overnight, and as a painter he was also admired and copied. Read more about him at the Pelle Molin Society.

“Far up north” was also the home of the first great female writer from Northern Norway. Regine Normann (1867-1939) was born on the farm Mårsund in Bø, and married a teacher and clockmaker 21 years her senior when she was only 17 years old. This was to be an unhappy marriage, but also the start of a long writing career. She wrote in secret from her husband, and hid the manuscript for what was to be her first book in a cave. Today, Sinahula is named after Regine Nordmann (whose real name was Serine Regine), and is considered an important cultural heritage site.

When Krabvaag – skildringen fra et lidet fiskevær was published in 1905, she had moved to Oslo, and the fee from the publication is said to have enabled her to pay for her divorce. Although she was based in the capital where she worked as both a teacher and a writer, the nature and traditions of Vesterålen – as well as her own chequered upbringing – were often an inspiration behind several of the publications of “Nordlandets Forfatterinde”. Read more about her at Wikipedia.

The Last Viking

Johan Bojer (1872-1959) was born and raised in Trøndelag, but Northern Norway and especially Lofoten played an important role in his writing. As a young man, he traveled on several business trips to Lofoten, and especially in his later books he depicts the life of fishermen in the north in a very realistic way. The Last Viking from 1921 is a good example. This is about the people of Trøndelag who were dependent on Lofoten fishing to secure much-needed income, and the story stands as a monument to this era of Norwegian history:

A land facing the Arctic Ocean, which all boys along the coast dreamed of reaching. Great deeds were practiced there. There one could win wealth, there the men raced with death. Some came home with a clean shilling, but most sailed through life in poverty. And yet – up there they sought again, year after year, one family after another. That was the adventure. That was where they had to go. And now it was his turn. Now he saw Lofoten.
From «The last Viking» by Johan Boyer (1921)

Here there is empathy for both the fishermen’s rough conditions, and the emotional burden on the family who sat at home waiting for the fishermen who just might return from the sea. The story is about the colorful crew of the boat “Kobben”, which, among other things, ends up in the middle of the famous “Battle of Trollfjorden” (1890). Read more about his writing at the publisher Gyldendal.

“The Battle of Trollfjord”. Photo: Galleri Gunnar Berg / Svinøya Rorbuer

Northerners in literary exile

Life in small coastal communities in Norway at the end of the 19th century was not always rosy. While many sought their fortune in the big city, others chose to embark on a longer journey in search of better conditions. This was the height of the great wave of emigration to the United States.

The northerner Ole Edvart Rølvaag (1876–1931) from Dønna was one of those who sought their fortune on the other side of the Atlantic. He had grown up in a classic coastal community in Nordland and worked in the traditional Lofoten fishing, but packed his American suitcase at the age of 20 and boarded a boat across the Atlantic. Rølvaag settled in South Dakota in 1896 where he became a professor, and later founded the Norwegian-American Historical Association – an association that, among other things, wanted to preserve the Norwegian identity and culture of the immigrants.

He would later become known in Norway as one of the foremost portrayers of emigration. His first books (Amerika-breve from 1912 and Paa gylmte veie from 1914) were published under the pseudonym Paal Mørch. Ten years later he was an established author of emigrant novels. In those days from 1924 and the four-volume work on Norwegian-American immigrant literature The Giants of the Earth are considered the foremost in their genre. Read more about him at Wikipedia.

Vett og uvett – stubber fra Nordland og Troms

While realism was strong among his predecessors, the Tromsø man Peter Wessel Zapffe (1899-1990) was more philosophically inclined. He was primarily influenced by the “philosophical pessimism” of the German Arthur Schopenhauer, and developed his own perspective on the world – referred to as “biosophy”. In addition to his observations published in the thesis “On the Tragic” in 1941, Peter Wessel Zapffe wrote, among other things, Vett og uvett. Stubber fra Troms og Nordland together with Einar K. Aas. The book – which is illustrated by Kaare Espolin Johnson – reproduces 49 humorous stories from the 19th century, based, among other things, on recollections from head teacher Ole Heide Aas (Einar’s father) and his upbringing and work in Øyhelle and Raftsundet.

Since the book is partly written in the Northern Norwegian dialect, it provides insight into both the language and culture of the North. His book Barske glaed – og andre temaer fra et liv under öpen himmel (1969) was voted the Norwegian mountain book of all time in 2008. For those who are particularly interested in the philosophy of the Tromsø native, it is worth noting Å tenke med Zapffe – er avtor, philosophe, pessimisten, humoristen, klærner by Dag O. Hessen which was published in 2024. Read more about this book at Kagge forlag.

Cora Sandel (1880-1974) lived in several places in Norway, Sweden and France, but she is said to have referred to Tromsø as her spiritual home. Sandel grew up in the capital, and moved to the “Paris of the North” at the age of 12. As a clever coincidence, she would later become fascinated by the real Paris later in life, where she first traveled to train as a painter. Both cities played important roles in her writing. Sandel is referred to as one of Norway’s true language artists, and often depicts women’s lives and artistic spirit in the two cities. Although she did not write autobiographically, her main characters are often female artists, while the action is set in the metropolis of Paris and Arctic Tromsø. In the Alberta trilogy, the journey goes from a city reminiscent of Tromsø to the international art scene in the French capital. Read more about her at the publisher Gyldendal.

Gisken Wildenvey (1892-1985) from Austvågøy in Lofoten was in many ways part of the cultural elite long before she made her debut as a writer. Jonette Pauline Andreassen was nicknamed Gisken by the famous East Coast poet Hermann Wildenvey after they married in 1912, and she eventually had her own career as a writer. Although Gisken Wildenvey did not publish many books, the quartet of novels that began with Andrine in 1929 became very popular. The Wildenveys lived in Copenhagen for a long time, but the jagged peaks and deep fjords of Lofoten were always present when Gisken wrote her books. The series about Andrine, for example, provides a glimpse of growing up in Lofoten and Vesterålen. Read more about her at Wikipedia.

Homeplace poetry is becoming cool again

Leif B. Lillegaard (1918-1994) from Sandnessjøen was a well-known broadcaster from NRK’s radio broadcasts, but also published a number of books about the hardy life at sea and along the coast of Northern Norway. In 1964 he published a documentary book about the Majavatn tragedy, where 23 resistance fighters from Helgeland were captured and killed by the German occupiers. This theme was the backdrop for several of his subsequent publications, such as Fangeskipet, Draugen, Siste Patrulje and Dramaet på Folla. His most famous book would be a tribute to his own mother and an account of growing up on the Helgeland coast. Mother received the Booksellers’ Prize in 1981. Read more about him at Wikipedia.

Terje Stigen (1922-2010) from Magerøya in Finnmark became a well-known voice in Norwegian literature in the 1950s thanks to his historical novels from Northern Norway. He made his debut with To døgn in 1950, but his breakthrough was Vindstille underveis from 1956, where the plot revolves around a southbound Hurtigruten ship that experiences an engine failure one summer night in the Vestfjord. Four of the passengers – three men and one woman – continue their journey in a dinghy, killing boredom on the slow journey by telling each their own story about their respective lives along the coast. Stjernøy (1959) is also a solid story about life in a (fictional) fishing village in the north. Ridiculous humor and bloody seriousness from a fictional island (but certainly inspired by real events!), served with life wisdom and refreshing descriptions of nature. Read more about him at the publisher Gyldendal.

01: "The Crystal Star" by Terje Stigen

02: Leif B. Lillegaard, author and journalist at NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Company)

03: "Tuberculosis" by Dag Skogheim

Dag Skogheim (1928-2015) from Helgeland was also a prolific writer who focused a lot on dramatic events in northern Norwegian history. He also wrote a lot about the medical cultural heritage, based on his own experiences as a tuberculosis patient. Skogheim’s literary breakthrough came with the novel Sulis in 1970, where the plot is set in the environment surrounding the miners in Sulitjelma and on the North Calotte. Read more about him at Tiden Norsk Forlag.

Herbjørg Wassmo (1942-) from Myre in Vesterålen is one of the most prominent voices from the north. The best-selling author is known for book series that portray the reality of northern Norway from a woman’s perspective. Wassmo published two collections of poetry written in dialect in the late 1970s, while Huset med den blinde glassveranda (The house with the blind glass balcony) from 1981 was her big breakthrough as a novelist. This was the first part of a trilogy about the difficult upbringing of a German child, Tora, in the post-war period in an island community in northern Norway, where themes such as shame are part of the naturalistic portrayal. The series was completed with Hudløs himmel (Skinless Sky) in 1986.

In Dina’s book from 1989, Wassmo takes readers back to a lively trading post with the fictitious name of Reines in Nordland in the mid-19th century. The main character Dina Grønelv grows up on a large farm, and the story is packed with drama, and the story is charged with tension from the child’s vulnerability to the woman’s pride and eagerness to unfold in a society dominated by men. Here there are rich descriptions of the coastal environment, interspersed with emotional carousels and dramatic events with both death drive and lust for life.

The sequel Lykkens sønn (The son of Fortune) from 1992 follows Dina’s son Benjamin on his studies in Copenhagen, while the third book in the series I Karnas arv from 1997 is back with new generations at Reines. The story of Dina was also made into a film in 2002 as Jeg er Dina, with Maria Bonnevie and Gérard Depardieu in the lead roles. The film was shot on Kjerringøy. Read more about Herbjørg Wassmo at the publisher Gyldendal.

Poetry and non-fiction is raising their voices

The legacy of the beloved poet Arvid Hanssen (1932-1998) lives on in the world of music, set to music by Tove Karoline Knutsen, Kari Bremnes and Moddi – for example Søsken på Guds jord (Siblings on God’s Earth). The poet from Lenvik on Senja was eager to lift up the weakest in society, and in addition to several poetry collections, he published a number of children’s books in which he depicts poverty and social distress, but also warm and humorous depictions of northern Norwegian nature and everyday life. Søsken på Guds jord from 1981 was adapted into a film in 1983, with Anneli Drecker in the lead role. Drecker has also published music with lyrics by Hanssen. Read more about him at the publisher Cappelen Damm.

While the nature and coastal culture of the north have been a source of inspiration for countless books, modern developments in the region have also been an important topic for debate. Sociologist and author Ottar Brox (1932-2024) from Torsken on Senja published several books on this topic, including What is happening in Northern Norway? from 1966. This is a critical analysis of the living conditions in local communities in the north, seen in light of national strategies and the centralization of both politics and industry. Here he pointed a warning finger at the ever-increasing need for efficiency, which he believed would destroy both local communities and families. Read more about him at Wikipedia.

Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (1943–2001) was an author, illustrator, yoiker and composer. The Sami multi-artist also known as “Áillohaš” grew up in Finnish Lapland, right on the border with Finnmark. He was born into a reindeer herding family, but trained as a teacher and quickly established himself as an artist in various genres. His first publication in Norwegian was Helsing frå Sameland in 1979, an artistic and political text originally published as Terveisiä Lapista in 1971. Valkeapää’s style is described as authentic and lifelike, while his lyrical texts often draw on indigenous worldviews and philosophy. In addition to being a central player in the revitalization of yoik, he composed several pieces of music – including for the blockbuster film Veiviseren in 1987, where he also played the role of the leader of the siida. Read more about Áillohaš – the Sami Guide at Wikipedia.

Frank A. Jenssen is definitely one of the great literary voices from the North. Both as a journalist, non-fiction writer, poet, songwriter, radio voice and fiction writer, he has beautifully portrayed his Nordland in all possible facets. He is also one of the few who has comprehensively depicted the position of the industrial worker through his three books from “Seljenes” (Kjøpsvik). Saltbingen (1981), a novel that stems from conflict between the Sami and non-Sami population in Tysfjord. It was awarded the Tarjej Vesaas debutant prize. Read more about him at Wikipedia.

Southerners is becoming Northerners and Victors

Some are almost born as Nordland writers, while others find their calling in the north. Oslo-born Lars Saabye Christensen (1953-) clearly falls into the latter category. Although many of Saabye Christensen’s most famous publications are set in the capital, there is also a lot that takes place in the north of the country. He lived in Sortland from 1983 to 1998, for what was initially only supposed to be a couple of years.

In Vesterålen I encountered a violent and fascinating nature, and nice and exciting people. This gave me new images and stories. The nature was strong and I was overwhelmed by the light.
Lars Saabye Christensen, in an interview by VG after moving back to Oslo

In 1989, he depicted the nature of the north in the illustrated publication Vesterålen – the light, the life, the landscape, while The Arctic Dream from 2007 is a captivating text about wind, sea, time and silence – with beautiful pictures by photographer Trym Ivar Bergsmo. The author, who constantly included culture and nature in the north in his books, was also one of the co-responsible for the “Blue City Project in Sortland“. Here, he engaged the youth of the coastal community to write texts on the blue house walls, in a project called “Scripture on Blue Bottom” from 1998.

01: Blue hour. Photo: Trym Ivar Bergsmo / nordnorge.com

02: It can feel like you are under the ocean with all the blue around. Photo: Siw Sandvik / nordmorge.com

03: Look out for writing on the blue walls. Photo: Knut Hansvold / nordnorge.com

Sortland has, as it should, its own library dedicated to Lars Saabye Christensen. Saabye’s Library contains all of the author’s books, including some translations. The library is located at Sortland Hotell, which was central to the book Bisettelsen (Funural) from 2008. This is the conclusion of the trilogy, which began with the modern classic Beatles from 1984. Read more about him at the publisher Cappelen Damm.

Roy Jacobsen (1954-) also grew up in Oslo, but like his fellow author Saabye Christensen, he lived in Northern Norway for several years. Jacobsen moved to his mother’s home on Dønna in his mid-20s. This provided much inspiration for the historical novel Seierherrene (The Viktors). The 1991 novel became a real bestseller, and follows three generations starting in Helgeland in the 1920s – and ending in Oslo 60 years later. Jacobsen returned to the coastal environment in Nordland in the story of Ingrid Barrøy, which began with De usynlige (The Invisibles) in 2013. This became a series of four books, where also Hvitt hav (White Ocean) (2015), Rigels øyne (The Eye of Rigel) (2017) and Bare en mor (Only a Mother) (2020) depict Helgeland’s coastal and cultural history in an insightful way. read more about him at the publisher Cappelen Damm.

Literature from the North wins new hearts and awards

Morten A. Strøksnes (1965-) has a versatile body of work in documentary books. Several of the Kirkenes-born writer’s publications are in the travelogue genre, with everything from road trips in Eastern Europe to Mexico. His magnum opus, however, is Sharkdrunk (The Art of Catching a Giant Shark from a Rubber Boat on a Big Ocean Through Four Seasons) (2015), set in Skrova in Vesterålen. The critically acclaimed book deals with the sea through history, stories, science, poetry and mythology. A different book about Northern Norway – and a modern classic.

01: "Shark Drunk: The Art of Catching a Large Shark from a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean" by author Morten Størksnes. Photo: Forlaget Oktober

02: Author Morten Strøksnes. Photo: Forlaget Oktober

03: Greenland Shark. Foto: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program

Fishermen often talk about boats as living things. If pressed, they will of course admit that the boat is inanimate matter, but deep down they know that this common view is wrong. Perhaps it is because the two are so closely linked and the characteristics of the boat can be a matter of life or death when the going gets tough.
From “Sharkdrunk” by Morten Strøksnes (2015)

Strøksnes has also written What’s happening in Northern Norway? from 2006, which is inspired by Ottar Brox’s book with the same title from 1966. Here he travels from Vesterålen to the Kola Peninsula to illuminate Northern Norway from different angles, in what is an account of development, history and not least identity. Read more about him at Forlaget Oktober.

Laila Stien (1946-) from Rana in Nordland and living in Alta is both a short story writer, novelist and translator. She has published a number of poetry collections and children’s books from the Northern Norwegian and Sami environment. She has also rewritten and translated several Sami publications into Norwegian, including those by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää. Her own Vekselsang from 1997 is about three Sami women from different generations who tell about their lives to a foreign social scientist who is working on a research project. It provides both insight from a culture in change and the perspective of an outsider. In 2015, Stien was appointed an honorary doctor at UIT, the Arctic University of Norway, for her efforts in translation work from Sami, as well as her own writing. Read more about her at Tiden Norsk Forlag.

Sissel Solbjørg Bjugn (1947-2011) was born in Setermoen in Troms and grew up in Østfold and Oslo. She studied philosophy in Tromsø, worked in the fishing industry in Båtsfjord and later settled in Sulitjelma and Bodø. Her book debut came in 1978 with the poetry collection Den første avisa på Lofotveggen og andre tekster, which she herself referred to as a montage. Here there is a mix of texts, quotes and drawings, and the publication was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas’ debutant prize. She published both novels, poetry collections and children’s books. Many of Sissel Solbjørg Bjugn’s books have roots in the northern Norwegian universe, and deal with themes such as class differences and the challenges of modernization. Read more about her at the publisher Samlaget.

Ellen Einan (1931-2013) from Svolvær worked, among other things, as a carer at a retirement home and a hotel receptionist in Lofoten, and it was not until she was well into adulthood that she began to write. Although her debut with Den gode engsøster was not published until 1982, she quickly became a recognized poet – but she herself claimed that she did not understand what she was writing – in a style referred to as “automatic writing”. It nevertheless made an impression on others, and in 2009 she was awarded the Havmannsprisen for Noen venter på bud. Read more about her at Wikipedia.

Ellen Hofsø (1948-) from Bodø and for a period living in Stokmarknes has written several novels with themes from the north. In 2023 she published Messe for de nawnløse which is about Pite Sámi history. Hofsø also deals with the somewhat forgotten aspects of northern Norwegian history, and Elvesang (2017) is a historical novel about the transport of Kven children from Tornedalen in Sweden to the coast of Norway in the mid-19th century. Read more about her at Norsk Forfattersentrum.

Newer pens from Nord

The relatively sparsely populated northern part of the country is full of unique characteristics. This applies to both nature and temperament, and even many of the established authors from Northern Norway who have moved to other parts of the country or abroad carry with them their heritage from the north. Wind and weather, fjords and mountains continue to inspire new generations of authors, but the Urban North has also naturally gained a greater place in Northern Norwegian literature. Here are some newer voices from Northern Norway worth checking out:

Endre Lund Eriksen (1977-) was born in Bodø, and lives in Tromsø. The prolific author is particularly known for his books about “Pitbull-Terje”, and received the Ministry of Church and Culture’s Literature Prize for his debut book Pitbull-Terje går amok in 2002. He also received the Havmann Prize for Ingen kan stoppe meg no een oppvejsroman fra Bodø fra 1980s. Together with Mathias N. Asplund, Sondre Midthun, Morten A. Strøksnes, Ragnfrid Trohaug and Tor Eystein Øverås, Endre Lund Eriksen was given free rein to write about his relationship with Bodø in Bodøboka (2024), a collection of texts where short stories, essays and poetry highlight alternative stories about the city and its people. Read more about him at the publisher Aschehoug.

01: 63 / 5 000 "Pitbull-Terje goes wild" by Endre Lund Eriksen. Photo: Aschehoug

02: "We want a dog" by author Ragnhild Trohaug. Photo: Barnas Egen Bokverden

Ragnfrid Trohaug (1975-) comes from Bodø and lives in Oslo where she is the publishing manager for children’s and young adult literature at Cappelen Damm. She has written several children’s and young adult books herself. She was awarded the Blix Prize and the Ministry of Culture’s debutant prize in her genre for her debut book Okkupert kjærleik in 2000. Read more about her at the publishert Cappelen Damm.

Tor Eystein Øverås (1968-) ble født på Finnsnes, og har tilhørighet til både Trondheim og Bodø. Hans første bokutgivelse var Tittelløs i 1993, og har senere vært redaktør for litteraturmagasinet Vinduet og gjort seg bemerket som litteraturkritiker. De siste årene har han blant annet gitt ut «monografi» om Sissel Solbjørg Bjugn, og var en av forfatterne som bidro til Bodøboka i 2024. Les mer om han hos forlaget Gyldendal.

Literary scholar and children’s book author Thoralf Fagertun (1980-) from Meløy and living in Bodø published the festive children’s book Familien Gnork in 2022. For this he was nominated for the Trollkrittet debutant prize. In Kobbs’ House (2024), the reader gets to go on an exciting treasure hunt where the ingredients are everything from angry polar bears and honey badgers, friendship and funny adventures. He is also one of the editors behind the Bodøboka from 2024. Read more about him at the publisher Samlaget.

Frode Granhus (1965-2017) from Leknes in Lofoten made a meteoric career as an author with the book series about police officer Rino Carlsen – and almost created his own literary genre known as “Lofotkrim”. The wild nature and violent weather in the region create the perfect setting for dramatic stories and thrilling suspense. A mix of mysterious con artists, the distinctive character of the local community and the contrasts of geography work well in the crime genre. Granhus made his debut with Hevneren in 2003, and his big breakthrough came with Malstrømmen seven years later. Stormen from 2012 was nominated for both the Riverton Prize and the Booksellers Prize. Read more about him at the publisher Vigmostad & Bjerke.

Mikkel Bugge (1978-) was born in Sortland and grew up in Vesterålen. The author, who lives in Oslo, made his debut with the short story collection Yttersider in 2007, and received the Havmann Prize for Gå under jorda from 2010 – a book that author and reviewer Knut Faldbakken described as “a dark saga that is nevertheless both easy and enjoyable to read” in VG. In the Brage Prize-nominated short story collection Tauet from 2014, Steigen is part of the story, among other things. Read more about him at Forlaget Oktober.

Sigrid Agnethe Hansen (1989-) from Harstad first made a name for herself with her debut book Ser du dette? in 2020. Three years later, she received the Blix Prize for her second publication; Du veit ingenting. The stories in the books are connected to a certain extent, and are about a young girl’s upbringing, with vulnerable themes such as outsider status, friendship and sibling love. Read more about her at Samlaget forlag.

Henning Howlid Wærp (1959-) is a literary scholar, author and critic. As a professor of Nordic literary studies at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, he has published several relevant books on Northern Norwegian literature, especially Arctic Literature. From Fridtjof Nansen to Anne B. Ragde from 2017 is interesting for anyone looking for Northern Norwegian references in literary publications. Here we get everything from analyzes of polar expeditions to novels and poetry from the north, with a focus on both non-fiction and fiction by everything from modern bestsellers to old, forgotten authors. Read more about him at Orkana Forlag.

Ellisiv Lindkvist (1973-) from Dyrøy between Senja and the mainland in Troms is a playwright and author with roots in Northern Norway. Her book debut came with Alt jeg skriver er sant from 2007, while Lindkvist received the Havmann Prize for Ditt røde hår, Unn in 2013. Read more about her at Dramatikerforbundet.

The Sami poet and author Sigbjørn Skåden (1976-) was awarded the same literary award for best Northern Norwegian book for Våker over dem som sover in 2014. The book follows the young Sami artist Amund Andersen as he travels to Kautokeino to work on an exhibition, while the story weaves together the past and the great upheavals in Sami culture in modern times. Skåden made his debut with the long poem Skuovvadeddjiid gonagas in 2004, where the theme and plot are from the interwar period in the Ofoten region. In 2012 he wrote the non-fiction children’s book Sámit/Samer, which has been published in Northern Sami and Norwegian and is part of the Cappelen Damms “Facts of the lion”

Kjersti Kollbotn (1959-) is originally from Nordfjord, but has lived in Tromsø since the mid-1990s. Her debut novel I Am a Mother, I Must Be Good from 2009 depicts life in Tromsø and Northern Norway, and won the Blix Prize in 2010. The book Persistent Weak Layers is her novel about inner and outer instability. Emil is on a spring ski trip in the mountains. The weather conditions throughout the season have made the mountainside unstable. The layers in the snow below him are weak. Emil also has persistent unstable layers within himself. The two conditions are not a lucky combination… Read more about her at Cappelen Damm.

Ingeborg Arvola (1974-) grew up in Tromsø, and has since settled in Oslo. Several of her novels have a Northern Norwegian theme, and Ingen dager uten regn won the Havmann Prize in 2008. In 2022 she won the Brage Prize in the fiction category for adults with the book Kniven i ilden. Ruijan rannarån – Sanger fra Ishavet is a historical novel that begins with the Finnish Brita Caisa breaking up with her hometown and skiing towards Bugøynes in Finnmark in 1859, where the sea is supposedly boiling with fish. The vivid style is described so realistically that the reader can almost smell the blood after the slaughter of reindeer, taste the sweet and sour taste of the cloudberries picked from the plateau, and feel the cold and heat.

The book provides a reading experience that “cuts into a demanding life in the North Calotte, with the fascinating woman Brita Caisa at the forefront – beautiful and shrouded in myth”, wrote VG’s reviewer when the book was published in 2022. It also received the Brage Prize the same year. Two years later, the sequel Vestersand was ready, also to very positive reviews. Here, there are themes such as whaling and American travels, fishing and saunas – charged with jealousy and love. Read more about her at Cappelen Damm.

Kathrine Olsen Nedrejord (1987-) is a writer, playwright and stage artist. She has Sami roots in Kjøllefjord in Finnmark, but has lived in Paris since 2011. In 2018 she was hired as a resident playwright at the National Theatre. In 2024 she won the Brage Prize for her novel The Sami Problem. Read more about her at Forlaget Oktober.

The Sami cardigan never went out of fashion. I have to write that. But I can’t start there. I can write: We don’t have to be the same every day.
From “The Sami Problem” by Kathrine O. Nedrejord (2024)

01: Kathrine Nedrejord. Foto: Fartein Rudjord

Saia Marilena Stueng (1993-) from Karasjok made her debut with the Northern Sami youth novel Hamburgerprinsessa (The Burger Princess), set in a small Sami village in Northern Norway. It became so popular that the publisher sold out of books shortly after its publication, and was followed by Hamburgerprinsessa – Eallá dušš oktii in 2023. Stueng has attended the Sami Writers’ Association and the Sami Parliament’s author’s studies, and has a master’s degree in Sami literature from UIT, the Arctic University of Norway. Read more about her at Norsk Forfattersentrum.

Sources: Store norske leksikon, Wikipedia, Archive of Nordland, NRK and different publishers reviews of their publications.

Written by Runar Larsen (text) / Roger Johansen (ideas, reseach, text og layout)

March 28, 2025

Last updated April 2, 2025