Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe (9 October 1920 – 9 May 1976) was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society and Western civilization as a whole. He led a turbulent life and his uncompromising opinions cost him both an obscenity conviction as well as long periods of heavy drinking and bouts of depression, which in the end led to his suicide.
Jens Bjørneboe | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 October 1920 Kristiansand, Norway |
| Died | 9 May 1976 (aged 55) Veierland, Nøtterøy, Norway |
| Occupation | Author, Waldorf school teacher |
| Period | 1951–1976 |
| Children | Therese Bjørneboe |
| Relatives | Ejlert Bjerke (uncle) André Bjerke (cousin) Dag Solstad (son-in-law) Vilhelm Tveteraas (father-in-law) Signe Hofgaard (mother-in-law) Sven Kærup Bjørneboe (nephew) |
Jens Bjørneboe's first published work was Poems (Dikt) in 1951. He is widely considered to be one of Norway's most important post-war authors. Bjørneboe identified himself, among other self-definitions, as an anarcho-nihilist.
During the Norwegian language struggle, Bjørneboe was a notable proponent of the Riksmål language, together with his equally famous cousin André Bjerke.