Aasmund Olavsson Vinje

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje was a Norwegian poet and journalist who wrote some of the finest lyric poems in Norwegian literature. He was also a pioneer in using the new rural variant of the Norwegian language known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian, in his newspaper Dølen and his literary works. He was born on April 6, 1818, in Vinje, Telemark, as the son of a poor tenant farmer. He showed great talent for learning and received a scholarship to attend a secondary school in Kviteseid. He then studied law at the University of Christiania (now Oslo) and graduated in 1848. He worked as a teacher, a writer, and a government clerk, but struggled to make a living. He became involved in the intellectual and cultural life of Christiania, where he met influential figures such as Henrik Wergeland, Ivar Aasen, Henrik Ibsen, and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. He also traveled extensively in Norway and abroad, visiting England, Scotland, France, Germany, and Italy. He wrote about his travels in his newspaper and books, combining essays and poems in a witty and amusing style. He was a keen observer of nature, society, and politics, and expressed his views with honesty and humor. He was a supporter of the Norwegian independence movement and a critic of the Danish influence on Norwegian culture. He was also a friend of the Norwegian king, who invited him to his coronation in 1860. Vinje started writing poetry relatively late in his life, at the age of 40. His first collection of poems, Diktsamling, was published in 1864. His most famous work is Ferdaminni fraa sumaren 1860 (Travel Memoirs from the Summer of 1860), which recounts his journey on foot from Christiania to Trondheim to report on the coronation. It is considered a masterpiece of Norwegian prose and poetry, and contains some of his best-known poems, such as "Våren" (The Spring), "Ved Rondane" (By Rondane), and "Den dag kjem aldri" (That Day Will Never Come). He also wrote a book about his impressions of England and the British, A Norseman's View of Britain and the British (1863), and a poetic cycle about a legendary hero, Storegut (1866). He also wrote several plays, but they were not successful. Vinje died of tuberculosis on July 30, 1870, at Gran, Oppland. He was buried at the Søsterkirkene (Sister Churches), a medieval site. He is regarded as one of the most original and influential writers in Norwegian literature, and his poems have been set to music by composers such as Edvard Grieg and Johan Halvorsen. He is also honored as a language reformer and a national icon.