Odd Eidem

Odd Eidem ( born October 23, 1913 in Oslo, † June 10, 1988 in Nesodden ) was a Norwegian writer and literary critic. He also published under the pseudonym Justino Valente.

Life

Eidems parents were Dorothea Eidem Serine and Gunnar Kolbel, which together with his father headed its printing. His parents divorced when Eidem still a kid. He grew up with his two younger brothers up with their mother in Hamar. After high school he started in 1933 in Oslo, a study of literary history. During his studies, he has written articles for the newspaper Hamar Arbeiderblad. In 1937 he published under the title Diktere i landfylktighet a book about German writers in exile. After he had obtained his master's degree in 1938, he worked until the invasion by the Wehrmacht in 1940 in the Nansen Office. During this time, in 1939, he published his first novel, Utes fane.

After the war he got a job as a literary and theater critic from 1955 also in the newly formed newspaper Verdens Gang. He worked there until 1977. After that he wrote from 1978 to 1988 a weekly column for the newspaper Aftenposten. Eidem wrote numerous essays and partly satirical short texts, the children's book Jeppe Jansens Giraffe and plays, travel reports, and in the 1970s and 1980s, other novels.

Eidem received several literary awards, including the critics prizes in 1978 for the novel Cruise and Cappel pinches of 1980. Likewise in 1980, his novel Pieter og jeg was nominated for the Literature Prize of the Nordic Council.

Works (selection)

Novels

• Utes fane (1939 )
• Kala (1971 )
• Cruise ( 1978)
• Pieter og jeg (1979 )

Spectacles

• Spillet om Bly - Petter (1947 )
• Min Kvinne (1956 )
• Guds gjøglere (1960 )

Literature Historical writings

• Diktere i landflyktighet (1935 )

Short texts

• Vinden Blaser fra nord ( 1948)
• Kefir above chianti. Flanerier om nordboere (1958 )
• Sett fra Sirius (1963 )

Children's Books

• Jeppe Jansens giraff (1969; German: Jeppe Jansens Giraffe, 1979)