author
Sigbjørn Obstfelder
1866–1900
A restless, searching voice in Norwegian literature, this early modernist poet wrote with striking honesty about loneliness, anxiety, faith, and the feeling of being out of step with the modern world. Though he died young, his work helped change the direction of Norwegian poetry.
1 Audiobook
Risti : Rakkaustarina
by Sigbjørn Obstfelder
About the author
Born in Stavanger in 1866, Sigbjørn Obstfelder became one of the key early modernist voices in Norway. He first trained as an engineer and also spent time in the United States, but he is remembered above all for poetry that gave vivid shape to alienation and inner unease.
His 1893 debut collection Digte is often described as a landmark in Norwegian literary history. Poems such as Jeg ser helped introduce a new tone and style, breaking away from older poetic conventions and opening the door to a more modern, impressionistic kind of writing.
Obstfelder also wrote prose and drama, and his work often returns to longing, spirituality, love, and the loneliness of modern life. He died in Copenhagen in 1900, only 33 years old, but his small body of work has had a lasting influence far beyond its size.