Birth of Knut Hamsun

Knut Hamsun was born on 4 August 1859 in Vågå. A Norwegian novelist, Hamsun is regarded as a pioneer of modern literature for his psychological, interior style, especially in his novel Hunger, which portrays the mind of a starving writer. Later works such as Pan, Mysteries and Growth of the Soil explored nature, alienation and rural life, and he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. His reputation was badly damaged by his support for Nazi Germany during the occupation of Norway in the Second World War. After the war he was tried for treason and fined, and the debate over how to read his work alongside his politics continues.

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