Fun Facts Friday: Knut Hamsun

Knut Hamsun (4 August, 1859 – 19 February, 1952) was a Norwegian author and a Noble prize winner.

Books by Knut Hamsun*

1)      Born as Knud Pedersen to a poor family, the author grew up on his uncle’s farm.

2)      When he was nine years old, the boy was separated from his family and went to live with his uncle, Hans Olsen, and helped him run a post office.

3)      According to Mr. Hamsun, his uncle did not treat him well and he escaped back to his family after five years.

4)      After going through various jobs, the author started apprenticing as a rope maker and writing.

5)      Mr. Hamsun spent several years in America – traveling and working. He later published his impresses as Fra det moderne Amerikas Aandsliv (1889).

6)      During World War II, the author supported the German war effort, he met with high ranking Nazi officers, Goebbels, and even met Hitler himself.

7)      After the war, Mr. Hamsun was arrested for treason, put in a psychiatrist hospital, and fined. Much of this was due to public anger for  his eulogy on Hitler.

8)      To this day, Norwegians have a love/hate relationship with the author, as they try to separate the views of their star writer from themselves.

9)      The author said that modernist literature should be about the human mind and its intricacies.

10)   Mr. Hamsun’s work spanned more than 70 years.

Books by Knut Hamsun*

Zohar — Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account