Home > Jens Bjørneboe

1 Short Biography

Jens Bjørneboe ( October 9 1920– May 9 1976) was a Norwegian painter, dramatist, essayist and novelist. His first published work was Poems (Dikt) in 1951.

Bjørneboe wrote a number of social critical novels, among those were Ere the Cock Crows (Før Hanen Galer, 1952) , Jonas (1955) and The Evil Shepherd (Den Onde Hyrde, 1960).

His best work is by many considered to be the trilogy The History of Bestiality, consisting of the novels Moment of Freedom (Frihetens Øyeblikk, 1966), Powderhouse (Kruttårnet, 1969) and The Silence (Stillheten, 1973).

Bjørneboe also wrote a number of plays, among those were The Bird Lovers (Fugleelskerne, 1966), Semmelweis (1968) and Amputation (Amputasjon, 1970).

In 1967, he was convicted for publishing the pornographic novel Without a Stitch (Uten en tråd, 1966), and the novel was confiscated and banned.

His last major work was the novel The Sharks (Haiene, 1974).

After having struggled with depressions and alcoholism for a long time, he committed suicide on May 9th, 1976.

2 Bibliography

2.1 Novels

• Duke Hans (Hertug Hans, 1972)
• Ere the Cock Crows (Før hanen galer , 1952)
• Jonas (1955)
• Under a Harsher Sky (Under en Hårdere Himmel, 1957)
• Winter in Bellapalma (Vinter i Bellapalma, 1958)
• Little Boy Blue (Blåmann, 1959)
• The Evil Shepherd (Den Onde Hyrde, 1960)
• The Dream and the Wheel (Drømmen og Hjulet, 1964)
• Moment of Freedom (Frihetens Øyeblikk, 1966)
• Without a Stitch (Uten en Tråd, 1966)
• Without a Stitch 2 (Uden en Trævl 2, 1968)
• Powderhouse (Kruttårnet, 1969)
• The Silence (Stillheten, 1973)
• The Sharks (Haiene, 1974)

2.2 Plays

• Many Happy Returns (Til Lykke Med Dagen, 1965)
• The Bird Lovers (Fugleelskerne, 1966)
• Semmelweis (1968)
• Amputation (Amputasjon, 1970)
• The Torgersen Case (Tilfellet Torgersen, 1972)
• Blue Jeans (Dongery, 1976)

2.3 Poems

• Poems (Dikt, 1951)
• Ariadne (1953)
• The Great City (Den Store By, 1958)

2.4 Essay collections

• Norway, my Norway (Norge, mitt Norge, 1968)
• We Who Loved America (Vi som elsket Amerika, 1970)
• Police and Anarchy (Politi og Anarki, 1972)

3 External Links

Jens Bjørneboe in English - Online Archives