Johan Borgen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johan Borgen
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| Born | 28 April 1902 Kristiania, Norway
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| Died | 16 October 1979 (aged 77) |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
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Notable work
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Lillelord (1955) |
| Children | 3, including Brett Borgen |
Johan Collett Müller Borgen (born April 28, 1902 – died October 16, 1979) was a famous Norwegian writer, journalist, and critic. He is best known for his novel Lillelord. For this book, he won the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature in 1955. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966, which is a very high honor for writers.
Contents
Life and Career of Johan Borgen
Johan Borgen was born in Kristiania, which is now called Oslo, in Norway. He grew up in the Frogner area of Oslo. He was the youngest of four sons in a family where his father was a successful lawyer.
Early Life and Journalism
Johan went to private schools, first Frøenene Platous Forskole and then Frogner Skole. He finished high school in 1920. In 1923, he started working as a journalist for the newspaper Dagbladet.
He began writing a special column there. In this column, he wrote funny and sometimes critical articles using the pen name "Mumle Gåsegg." A pen name is a fake name a writer uses. He worked for Dagbladet until 1941. He also worked for another newspaper, Morgenbladet, from 1928 to 1930. During the 1930s, he also translated many different kinds of books from other languages.
Writing During World War II
During World War II, Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany. Johan Borgen bravely wrote articles that were against the Nazi government. These articles were often ironic, meaning they said one thing but meant the opposite, to make fun of the Nazis.
Because of his writing, he was arrested and sent to Grini concentration camp. This was a prison camp. However, he managed to escape from the camp. After escaping, he continued to write secretly against the people who had occupied Norway. When his secret work was found out again, he had to escape across the border to Sweden to be safe.
After the War and Literary Success
After Norway was freed in 1945, Johan Borgen briefly worked as a culture editor for the newspaper Friheten. From 1947 to 1959, he worked as a stage director in Oslo. He directed more than forty plays during this time. He was also the editor of a literary magazine called Vinduet from 1954 to 1959.
Johan Borgen started his career as a fiction writer in 1925 with his novel Mot mørket. He became very well-known with his novel Hvetebrødsdager in 1948. He then wrote Noveller om kjærlighet (1952) and Natt og dag (1954).
His most famous book is the semi-autobiographical novel Lillelord (1955). "Semi-autobiographical" means it's partly based on his own life. Lillelord is the first book in a series of three novels. The other two books in the series are De mørke kilder and Vi har ham nå, which were published in 1956 and 1957.
Family Life
From 1934 until he passed away in 1979, Johan Borgen was married to Annemarta Evjenth Borgen. She was also a novelist. They had three children together. One of their children, Brett Borgen (1934–2014), also became a writer.
Awards and Recognition
Johan Borgen received several important awards for his writing:
- 1945: Gyldendal's Endowment
- 1955: Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature
- 1965: Dobloug Prize
- 1965: Bokhandlerprisen for Lillelord
- 1967: Nordic Council's Literature Prize
Other sources
- Randi Birn (1977) Johan Borgen – En litterær biografi (Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag) ISBN: 82-05-09287-7
See also
In Spanish: Johan Borgen para niños
