Arnljot Eggen

Who was Arnljot Eggen?

Arnljot Eggen was a Norwegian poet who also wrote plays and children's books.

He was born in Tolga. He made his literary debut in 1951, with the poetry collection Eld og is. He was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature for the children's book Den lange streiken. He received the Melsom Prize in 1971 for the songbook Bakside-viser, and again in 1995 for the poetry collection Det flyktige varige. He wrote in both standards of written Norwegian, Bokmål and Nynorsk.

In the 1970s he became affiliated with the Workers' Communist Party. He was considered one of the leading left-wing poets in Norway at the time, and was a pioneer of political theatre, the best known play being 1973's Pendlerne. He also had a column in Klassekampen.