ऊलाव हाउगे / Olav Hauge
Olav Hauge (1908-1994) is regarded as the most important twentieth century Norwegian poet. He spent all his life in his native Ulvik, a village in the Hardanger area of Western Norway, and made his living off the apple crop from his orchard, an acre in size. He published seven collections of poems, and translated into Norwegian, among others, poets such as Holderlin, Trakl, Brecht, Celan, Sylvia Plath, Yeats, Rimbaud, Michaux and Char. He married, late in life, Bodil Cappelen, an artist.
The year 2008 happens to be the birth centenary year of Olav Hauge.
His village Ulvik, close to the western fjords in Norway, is hosting a huge festival of poetry in September 2008. Hauge’s village folk( the population being very small) are accustomed to throwing open their houses to the participants of events associated with the poet. The centenary celebrations bring together Hauge enthusiasts from all over the world. His Hindi translator, Rustam, will read his own poems in Ulvik along with the Hindi translations he has done. The book will be published by Vani Prakashan, New Delhi, in October 2008.
Norwegian singer Unni Løvlid is touring India singing Hauge in many languages including Hindi, and will base her performance on the translation we present here in Pratilipi.