Alf Prøysen

Alf Prøysen c. 1949.

Alf Prøysen (23 July 1914 - 23 November 1970), was a writer and musician from Norway. He was born at Rudshøgda in Ringsaker. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the twentieth century, and he made significant contributions to literature, music, TV and radio.

His childhood was typical for those of the husmann class; the landless lower class of rural Norway. This is reflected in his songs and short stories, where he draws realistic, satirical and harsh pictures of class relations and everyday life in rural Norway.

Though somewhat of an underdog and an outsider, Prøysen made significant contributions to many artistic fields: children's radio, short stories, theater and music. His only novel Trost i taklampa was a great success both as a book and as a play, depicting the urbanization of 1950s Norway, and the effect this had on rural life.

His work includes the stories about Mrs. Pepperpot, a tiny lady who never knows when she is going to shrink to the size of a teaspoon. In the Norwegian original, she is known as "Teskjekjerringa"; the teaspoon lady.

As the youngest of four children, Prøysen was very close to his mother Julie. He married Else Storhaug in 1948 and together they had two children, a daughter, Elin Julie and a son, Alf Ketil. Alf Prøysen died of cancer on 23 November 1970, aged 56.

See also

• Musevisa

External links

• Biography from Prøysenhuset, a museum dedicated to the artist.
• Biography written by the artist's daughter, Elin Prøysen.
• No national celebration of Prøysen. There will be no national 100 year anniversary for Alf Prøysen's birth, in 2014. He is simply viewed as not big enough.