Sigurd Evensmo


Sigurd Evensmo was a Norwegian author and journalist.

Career

He was born in Hamar. In his younger years he was active in Clarté, a student organization at University of Oslo and in contact with Mot Dag, a forum among the social democratic students. He then joined the Workers' Youth League and worked actively with them. He began as a journalist apprentice with Hamar Arbeiderblad and continued as a journalist in many weekly workers papers including Tiden in Arendal, Fremtiden in Drammen and Arbeidernes Pressekontor in Oslo. Finally in 1939 he began to work for the Arbeiderbladet.
During the war Evensmo was active with the resistance and he wrote for the illegal paper, Bulletinen until he was forced into hiding and finally to flee from Norway. From 1953 through 1959 he was the editor for the paper Orientering. He served as film critic for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1948 until 1962.
Before the Second World War he had written a play, Konflikt, in 1934. His first novel, published in 1945, was Englandsfarere. The theme of the book was based on Evensmo's personal experiences during the war. His trilogy consisting of Grenseland, Flaggermusene and Hjemover are recognized as a major example of Norwegian post-war literature, and explore the social and psychological differences between the country and city cultures as well as the intellectual development of workers between the wars. Evensmo won the Kritikerprisen for the books, and at the close of the 1970s, the trilogy was produced for television by NRK. His novels Gåten fra år null, Femten døgn med Gordona and Miraklet på Blindern can all be categorized as science fiction; Evensmo was among the first to write in this genre in Norway. He also wrote the scripts for many films.

Prizes and recognition

Books