Olav Aukrust
Encyclopedia
Olav Aukrust was a Norwegian
poet
and teacher. He was born in Lom
and wrote poems with a renewed national romantic
style. His use of rural
dialect
contributed to the growth of Nynorsk
as a literary language
.
, and used a characteristically similar form. Until 1917, he worked as a teacher at the folk high school for Dovre
(1915–17) where his friend Ingeborg Møller
was a teacher, as well as in Gausdal
. He suffered from tuberculosis
, which came to characterize his last year and led to an early death.
Olav Aukrust joined the Anthroposophical Society
in December 1921 after he and his wife, Gudrun Aukrust, traveled through Goetheanum
on their way home from Italy
.
His nephews were Odd Aukrust
and Kjell Aukrust
, an author
and artist
.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and teacher. He was born in Lom
Lom, Norway
Lom is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fossbergom....
and wrote poems with a renewed national romantic
Romantic poetry
Romanticism, a philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural era which began in the mid/late-1700s as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals of the day , also influenced poetry...
style. His use of rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
contributed to the growth of Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
as a literary language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
.
Life
Aukrust was married to Gudrun Blekastad. He was strongly influenced by Ivar Mortensson-EgnundIvar Mortensson-Egnund
Ivar Mortensson-Egnund was a Norwegian author, journalist, theologian, researcher, translator, writer, philosopher and advocate of nynorsk . He was born in Alvdal North Østerdal...
, and used a characteristically similar form. Until 1917, he worked as a teacher at the folk high school for Dovre
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....
(1915–17) where his friend Ingeborg Møller
Ingeborg Møller
Ingeborg Møller was a Norwegian playwright, novelist and biographer. She made her literary début with the play Fru Karen, staged at Centralteatret in 1904. She wrote several novels in the 1920s. In 1948 she published a biography of scientist and philosopher Henrik Steffens. She was awarded the...
was a teacher, as well as in Gausdal
Gausdal
Gausdal is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru...
. He suffered from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, which came to characterize his last year and led to an early death.
Olav Aukrust joined the Anthroposophical Society
Anthroposophical Society
The General Anthroposophical Society is an organization dedicated to supporting the community of those interested in the form of spiritual philosophy known as anthroposophy. The society was initiated during 1913 by members of the Theosophical Society in Germany, including Rudolf Steiner who was at...
in December 1921 after he and his wife, Gudrun Aukrust, traveled through Goetheanum
Goetheanum
The Goetheanum, located in Dornach , Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. Named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the center includes two performance halls , gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical...
on their way home from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
His nephews were Odd Aukrust
Odd Aukrust
Odd Aukrust was a Norwegian economist.He was born in Tynset, as the brother of writer and humorist Kjell Aukrust....
and Kjell Aukrust
Kjell Aukrust
Kjell Aukrust was a Norwegian author, poet and artist. He was the nephew of Olav Aukrust. He is most famous for his memoirs of his childhood in Alvdal in the books Simen, Bonden and Bror Min, and his creation of the fictional Norwegian village of Flåklypa and its cast of idiosyncratic characters...
, an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.