Stein Mehren is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

ist and playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

. He made his literary debut as lyricist with Gjennom stillheten en natt (1960). He has written more than fifty books, mainly poetry.

Awards

Mehren received the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature and the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment

Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment

Mads Wiel Nygaard's Endowment is an annually awarded literary prize from the publishing house Aschehoug. The prize is a recognition of superior literary work. The publisher's editorial management makes the award based on their collective judgement of merit. Applications are not accepted.The...

 in 1963 for Mot en verden av lys, and was awarded the Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy

The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...

’s Dobloug Prize

Dobloug Prize

The 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:...

 in 1971. He received Aschehougprisen in 1973, the Riksmål Society Literature Prize

Riksmål Society Literature Prize

The Riksmål Society Literature Prize is awarded annually by the Riksmålsforbundet for the outstanding publication in riksmål...

 in 1975, the Gyldendalprisen in 2004, and the Norwegian Academy Prize in memory of Thorleif Dahl in 1987.

In 1979 he was awarded the Fritt Ord Award

Fritt Ord Award

The organization Fritt Ord awards two prizes to support freedom of speech; the Fritt Ord Award and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award .-Fritt Ord Award:These are the laureates of the Fritt Ord Award:*1976 : Johan Vogt*1977 : Henrik Groth...

.