Stein Mehren | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1935-05-16)16 May 1935 Oslo, Norway |
| Died | 28 July 2017(2017-07-28) (aged 82) |
| Occupation(s) | Poet Essayist Playwright |
| Relatives | Martin Mehren (uncle) |
| Awards | |
Stein Mehren (16 May 1935 – 28 July 2017) was a Norwegianpoet,essayist andplaywright. He made his literary debut as poet withGjennom stillheten en natt (1960). He wrote more than fifty books, mainly poetry.[1][2]
Mehren was born inOslo, Norway to physician and dentist Haakon Mehren (1910–38) and Solveig Marie Klaveness Bjerke (1908–55).He was a nephew of merchantMartin Mehren (1905–2002). After graduating from secondary school in 1953, Mehren studied philosophy at theUniversity of Oslo for several years.[3]
He made his literary debut with the poetry collectionGjennom stillheten en natt in 1960. Other collections from the 1960s areAlene med en himmel (1962),Mot en verden av lys (1963),Gobelin Europa (1965),Tids alder (1966), andAurora. Det Niende Mørke (1969). Among his essay collections areSamtidsmuseet og andre tekster (1966),Maskinen og menneskekroppen (1970), andMyten og den irrasjonelle fornuft (two volumes, 1977 and 1980). He has written two plays,Narren og hans hertug (1968, staged atNationaltheatret), andDen store søndagsfrokosten (1976). In the 1970s he wrote two novels,De utydelige (1972) andTitanene (1974).[3]
Mehren received theNorwegian Critics Prize for Literature and theMads Wiel Nygaards Endowment in 1963 forMot en verden av lys. He was awarded theSwedish Academy’sDobloug Prize in 1971. He receivedAschehougprisen in 1973, theRiksmål Society Literature Prize in 1975, theFritt Ord Award in 1979, theNorwegian Academy Prize in memory of Thorleif Dahl in 1987 and theGyldendalprisen in 2004.In 1993, he was awarded theAnders Jahre Cultural Prize (Anders Jahres kulturpris) jointly with pianistRobert Levin.[4][5][6][7]
From 1964 to 1975 he was married to Tove Halvorsen, then to Siri Hjemdal from 1979 to 1981.[3]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Recipient of theFritt Ord Award 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Recipient of theGyldendal's Endowment 1981 (shared withGidske Anderson) | Succeeded by |
