Hans Børli
Encyclopedia
Hans Børli was a Norwegian poet and writer, who besides his writings worked as a lumberjack
all his life. He was born in Eidskog
, in South-Eastern Norway, close to the Norwegian border to Sweden. He was buried at Eidskog Church.
Kommune. The experience of poverty and hardship would leave a deep imprint on his later art. However, the positive effects of living close to nature, the wisdom of tradition and the solidarity between workers also had significant bearing on his writings. Extensive reading spawned an early urge to write. This was both a way of expressing personal feelings, frowned upon in a masculine work environment, and possibly a way of literally escaping the economic and social inferiority. His mother's father, one of the last great oral narrator of legends and stories of the area, Ole Gundersen Børli, is also considered an important influence on the young writer-to-be, Hans Børli. A strict Christian upbringing would leave Børli forever struggling with the counteractive forces of rebellion and a deeply embedded sense of religious awe.
In a social setting where education beyond mandatory schooling was rare, the young Hans, considered a gifted boy, was given a free place in Talhaug Mercantile School, in Kongsvinger
which a he later left when he was admitted to a military academy in Oslo, but his education was aborted by the outbreak of the Second World War. Børli fought the Germans, and was involved in some intense battles in Vardal, and was captured in Verdal
. After being released, he went back to Eidskog and worked as a teacher and forest worker for the remaining of the war. He was also involved in illegal activity, such as guiding refugees across the Swedish border, all the while he was preparing his first collection of poetry "Tyrield" (Pine Passion) (1945)
Hans Børli was by his own account (ref) heavily influenced by the Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge
.
In Translation:
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
all his life. He was born in Eidskog
Eidskog
Eidskog is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Eidskog was separated from the municipality of Vinger in 1864....
, in South-Eastern Norway, close to the Norwegian border to Sweden. He was buried at Eidskog Church.
Biography
Hans Børli was raised on a small farm in a road-less area in the forests in EidskogEidskog
Eidskog is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Eidskog was separated from the municipality of Vinger in 1864....
Kommune. The experience of poverty and hardship would leave a deep imprint on his later art. However, the positive effects of living close to nature, the wisdom of tradition and the solidarity between workers also had significant bearing on his writings. Extensive reading spawned an early urge to write. This was both a way of expressing personal feelings, frowned upon in a masculine work environment, and possibly a way of literally escaping the economic and social inferiority. His mother's father, one of the last great oral narrator of legends and stories of the area, Ole Gundersen Børli, is also considered an important influence on the young writer-to-be, Hans Børli. A strict Christian upbringing would leave Børli forever struggling with the counteractive forces of rebellion and a deeply embedded sense of religious awe.
In a social setting where education beyond mandatory schooling was rare, the young Hans, considered a gifted boy, was given a free place in Talhaug Mercantile School, in Kongsvinger
Kongsvinger
is a town and is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger....
which a he later left when he was admitted to a military academy in Oslo, but his education was aborted by the outbreak of the Second World War. Børli fought the Germans, and was involved in some intense battles in Vardal, and was captured in Verdal
Verdal
Verdal is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra...
. After being released, he went back to Eidskog and worked as a teacher and forest worker for the remaining of the war. He was also involved in illegal activity, such as guiding refugees across the Swedish border, all the while he was preparing his first collection of poetry "Tyrield" (Pine Passion) (1945)
Hans Børli was by his own account (ref) heavily influenced by the Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge
Olav H. Hauge
Olav Håkonson Hauge was a Norwegian poet. He was born in Ulvik and lived his whole life there, working as a gardener in his own orchard....
.
Poetry
Years link to corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:- 19451945 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes, based on George Crabbe's The Borough...
: Tyrielden ("Pine Passion") - 19481948 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Sometime this year, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase Beat Generation to describe his friends and as a general term describing the underground, anti-conformist youth gathering in New York at that...
: Villfugl ("Wild Bird") - 19491949 in poetryLinks to nations or nationalities point to articles with information on that nation's poetry or literature. For example, United Kingdom links to English poetry and Indian links to Indian poetry.-Events:...
: Men støtt kom nye vårer ("But Spring Would Always Come") - 19521952 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* November — The Group British poetry movement of the 1950s and 1960s began at Downing College, Cambridge University, Philip Hobsbaum along with two friends — Tony Davis and Neil Morris...
: Likevel må du leve ("Still There is Life") - 19541954 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Robert Creeley founds and edits the Black Mountain Review...
: Ser jeg en blomme i skogen ("When I See a Flower in the Forest") - 19571957 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Howl obscenity trial in San Francisco brings significant attention to beat poetry, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg...
: Kont-Jo ("Timber Joe") - 21/10-19581958 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Brazilian manifesto for concrete poetry, which focuses on visual and other sensory qualities...
:Dagene ("Days") - 19601960 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* August Derleth launches the poetry magazine, Hawk and Whippoorwill....
: Jeg ville fange en fugl ("I Wanted to Catch a Bird") - 19621962 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Writers in the Soviet Union this year were allowed to publish criticism of Joseph Stalin and were given more freedom generally, although many were severely criticized for doing so...
: Ved bålet ("By Campfire") - 19641964 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Among the many books of poetry published this year, Robert Lowell's For the Union Dead is greeted with particular acclaim...
: Hver liten ting ("Every Little Thing") - 19661966 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Raymond Souster founds the League of Canadian Poets...
: Brønnen utenfor Nachors stad ("The Well by Nachor") - 19681968 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Belfast Group, a grouping of poets in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which was started in 1963 in poetry, lapsed in 1966 when founder Philip Hobsbaum left for Glasgow, is reconstituted this year by...
: Når menneskene er gått heim ("When Humans Have Gone Home") - 19781978 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Magazine, edited by Bruce Andrews and Charles Bernstein, first published...
: Dag og drøm ("Day and Dream") - 19691969 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* FIELD magazine founded at Oberlin College...
: Som rop ved elver ("Like Roars by Rivers") - 19701970 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* May – "La nuit de la poésie", a poetry reading in Montreal bringing together poets from French Canada to recite before an audience of more than 2,000 in the Théâtre du Gesu, lasting until 7...
: Isfuglen ("The Ice Bird") - 19721972 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* John Betjeman becomes Poet Laureate...
: Kyndelsmesse ("Candlemas") - 19741974 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics is founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman....
: Vindharpe ("Wind Harp") - 19761976 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Two poems written in 1965 by Mao Zedong just before the Cultural Revolution, including "Two Birds: A Dialogue", are published on January 1-Works published in English:Listed by nation where the work...
: Vinden ser aldri på veiviserne ("The Wind Never Beholds the Pathfinder") - 19791979 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Kenyon Review is restarted by Kenyon College 10 years after the original publication was closed....
: Når kvelden står rød over Hesteknatten ("Evening Red over the Horse Hummock") - 19841984 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*December 19 - Philip Larkin turns down the British Poet Laureateship, and Ted Hughes becomes Poet Laureate....
: Frosne tranebær ("Frozen Cranberries")
Prose
Years link to corresponding "[year] in literature" article:- 19461946 in literatureThe year 1946 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 7 - Walker Percy marries Mary Bernice Townsend.*Launch in the United Kingdom of Penguin Classics under the editorship of E. V...
: Han som valte skogen ("He Who Chose the Forest"), novel - 19491949 in literatureThe year 1949 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Arthur C. Clarke becomes Assistant Editor of Science Abstracts.*Bertrand Russell receives the Order of Merit....
: Det small et skott ("A Shot was Heard"), novel - 19511951 in literatureThe year 1951 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. E. Cummings and Rachel Carson are awarded Guggenheim Fellowships.*Flannery O'Connor is diagnosed with lupus....
: Sølv og stål ("Silver and Steel") - 19531953 in literatureThe year 1953 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* January 22 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway....
: Under lomskriket ("The Cry of the Loon"), - 19871987 in literatureThe year 1987 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Wolfe was paid $5 million for the film rights to his novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the most ever earned by an author, at the time.-Fiction:...
: Tusseleiken (fortellinger og skisser) - 19881988 in literatureThe year 1988 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Margaret Atwood - Cat's Eye*J.G. Ballard - Memories of the Space Age*Iain M...
: Med øks og lyre. Blar av en tømmerhuggers dagbok ("With Axe and Lyre. Sheaths of the Diary of a Lumberjack"), autobiography - 19911991 in literatureThe year 1991 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation....
: Smykket fra slagmarken ("Gem from a Battlefield"), novel
Other
About Hans Børli:- 19981998 in literatureThe year 1998 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 5 - Tennessee Williams' 1938 play, Not About Nightingales, receives its stage première....
: Syng liv i ditt liv. En biografi. ("Sing Life in Your Life.- A Biography.")
In Translation:
- We Own the Forests: And Other Poems, sixty of Børli's poems in a parallel Norwegian-English edition, translated by Louis Muinzer
Prizes and recognition
- 1970 : Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
- 1971 : Nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize for the poetry collection Isfuglen
- 1972 : Dobloug PrizeDobloug PrizeThe Dobloug Prize is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug pursuant to his bequest. The prize sum is . The Dobloug Prize is awarded annually by the Swedish Academy.-Prize winners:...
- 1974 : Mads Wiel Nygaards Endownment
- 1982 : Fritt Ord Honorary Award.