Hans Seland facts for kids

Hans Seland (born March 5, 1867 – died June 30, 1949) was an important person in Norway. He was a politician and a writer. He wrote many books, especially funny stories and books for children. He also helped shape Norway's future as a member of parliament.

Hans Seland's Early Life and Politics

Hans Seland grew up on a farm called Seland in Flekkefjord, Norway. He went to an agricultural school from 1884 to 1886. Later, he worked as an editor for a newspaper in Oslo. In 1896, he went back to his family farm in Nes.

Seland was also a politician. He was a representative in the Norwegian Parliament for the Liberal Party from 1915 to 1918. Then, he represented the Norwegian Agrarian Association from 1921 to 1924. He also worked in his local town council for many years. Hans Seland, along with Hans Haga and Nils Trædal, were strong leaders in the Agrarian Party. They worked hard to stop their party from joining a group called Nasjonal Samling, which was a fascist party.

Hans Seland: Author and Storyteller

Hans Seland wrote over 50 books! Most of his books are in Norwegian, so not many people outside Norway know about them. But in Norway, and among Norwegians who moved to America, he was very famous.

Traveling to America

Seland was known as a great storyteller. In 1904, his fame led him to travel to the United States. He visited many Norwegian immigrant communities there. In 1925, he even represented the Norwegian Farmers' Union at a big celebration. This event marked 100 years since Norwegians started moving to America.

Seland wrote in his book Aar og Dagar how amazed he was. He saw how well Norwegian immigrants kept their old dialects and church language. At the same time, they fit into the American way of life. His travels made him write many articles praising the United States. He also wrote about how Norwegians living there kept their history and culture alive. His fame even led him to meet President Theodore Roosevelt.

Writing in Nynorsk

Seland chose to write in his native language, Nynorsk. This was special because most Norwegian authors at that time still used Bokmål, which was more like Danish. Because of his writing style and quality, he became friends with other authors who supported Nynorsk. These included famous writers like Ivar Aasen, Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Arne Garborg, Jonas Lie, and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.

Humor and Children's Books

Seland was mostly a humorist. Many of his books are full of funny stories. He called them Morostubbar, which means "fun stubs." These were short, humorous tales, usually one or two pages long. He made them up or based them on things he saw during his travels. He traveled everywhere telling his stories and was popular on the radio. People considered him one of the greatest Norwegian comedians before World War II.

In 1904, as Norway was becoming independent from Sweden, Seland published Prinsesse Gullsko og systerne hennar. While adults were busy with politics, Seland thought of the children. His book brought fun and imagination to thousands of kids. By using New Norwegian, he reached more children. They could finally read stories in their own dialect. He wrote several more books for children. By 1908, he helped create schoolbooks that taught children to read in the new language. Famous artist Theodor Kittelsen illustrated some of his books.

Selected Works

• I straumen (1892)
• Hikstorier (1893)
• Andror (1898)
• Eikeli (1900)
• Norskt maal. Kvi strævar me? (1900)
• Prinsesse Gullsko og systrene hennar (1901)
• Høgsumar (1903)
• Um Amerika og frendefolket i Vesterheim (1904)
• Bygdefolk. Utvalde Skjemte-soger (1907)
• Dagros og andre dyr (1907)
• Frukthagen (1908)
• Stavebok for skule og heim (1908)
• Hetlesaki. Eit bilæte or norsk rettssoga (1908)

Images for kids

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  Hans Seland