Herman Wildenvey
Herman Wildenvey (20 July 1885 – 27 September 1959), born Herman Theodor Portaas, was one of the most prominent Norwegian poets of the twentieth century. During his lifetime he published 44 books of his own poetry, in addition to translations of William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, and Heinrich Heine.
Biography
Wildenvey was born in Mjøndalen, near the city of Drammen. His childhood home, from which he got his birthname, was called Portåsen. In 1912, he married Jonette Kramer Andreassen (1895–1985), who took the name Gisken (Wildenvey) upon the wedding.
On 28 June 1904 the SS Norge ran aground on Hasselwood Rock, close to Rockall, on St Helen's Reef. According to Sebak's comprehensive account, the final death toll was 635, among them 225 Norwegians. The 160 survivors spent up to eight days in open lifeboats before rescue. Several more people died in the days that followed rescue as a result of their exposure to the elements and drinking the salt water. Herman Wildenvey was among the survivors. [1]
After living some years in Oslo and Copenhagen, the couple settled in the small coastal town of Stavern in 1923, where they built their home Hergisheim in 1927 ("Herman og Giskens Heim"; "Herman and Gisken's Home"). The couple lived there for the rest of their lives.
In 1955, four years before he died, Herman Wildenvey was honoured with title of Commander of the Royal Order of St. Olav in merit of his writing. He died in his home town of Stavern.
Partial bibliography
Original works
Direct translations of Norwegian titles shown in parentheses.
- 1902 Campanula
- 1907 Nyinger ("Camp Fires")
- 1908 Digte ("Poems")
- 1910 Ringsgang ("Walking in Circles")
- 1911 Prismer ("Prisms")
- 1913 Lys over land ("Light Over Land")
- 1913 Årets eventyr ("The Adventure of the Year")
- 1915 Brendende Hjerter ("Burning Hearts")
- 1916 Kjærtegn ("Caresses")
- 1917 Digte i utvalg ("Selected Poems")
- 1917 Flygtninger ("Fugitives")
- 1919 Hemeligheter ("Secrets")
- 1919 Alle slags vers ("All Sorts of Verse")
- 1920 Troll i ord ("Words Come True")
- 1920 Den glemte have ("The Forgotten Garden")
- 1921 Nedfallsfrugt ("Fruit on the Ground")
- 1922 Nye digte i udvalg ("New Selected Poems")
- 1923 Ildorkestret ("The Fire Orchestra")
- 1924 Streiftog i hjembygden ("Home Town Revisited")
- 1925 Fiken av tistler ("Figs out of Thistles")
- 1926 Der falder stjerner ("Stars are Falling")
- 1926 Prosa i utvalg ("Selected Prose")
- 1927 Samlede digt ("Collected Poems")
- 1927 Et Herrens år ("A Year of The Lord", or "Anno Domini")
- 1930 Dagenes sang, Ringen ("The Song of Days", "The Ring")
- 1931 Høstens lyre ("The Harp of Autumn")
- 1931 Digte i utvalg ("Selected Poems")
- 1932 På ville veier ("Running Wild")
- 1935 Stjernenes speil ("Mirrors of the Stars")
- 1936 Samlede digt ("Collected Poems")
- 1936 En ung manns flukt ("A Young Man's Escape")
- 1937 Vingehesten og verden ("The Winged Horse and the World") (translated into German the same year, as Mein Pegasus)
- 1938 Den nye rytmen ("The New Rhythm")
- 1940 En lykkelig tid ("Happy Days")
- 1941 Samlede dikt ("Collected Poems")
- 1946 Filomele
- 1947 Ved sangens kilder ("At the Springs of Song")
- 1948 Ringsgang (revised version of the 1910 edition)
- 1950 Mine sangers bok ("The Book of My Songs")
- 1952 Polyhymnia
- 1953 Ugler til Athen (translated by Joseph Auslander as Owls to Athens)
- 1956 Soluret ("The Sundial")
- 1957 Samlede dikt ("Collected Poems")
- 1969 Efterklang ("Aftertones") (edited by his wife, Gisken Wildenvey)
Translations
- 1912 William Shakespeare: As you like it (Norw. title: Livet i skogen; "Life in the Forest")
- 1926 Paul Géraldy: Toi et moi (Norw. title: Du og jeg; "You and Me")
- 1929 Heinrich Heine: Buch der Lieder (Norw. title: Sangenes bok; "The Book of Songs")
- 1930 Ernest Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms (Norw. title: Farvel til våpnene)
- 1931 Liam O'Flaherty: Mr. Gilhooley
- 1942 Aisōpos: Aesop's Fables (Norw. title: Æsops fabler)
Awards
- Gyldendal's Endowment for 1935
External links
