Bergljot Hobæk Haff


Bergljot Hobæk Haff was a Norwegian educator and novelist.

Biography

Haff was born at Botne in Vestfold, Norway. Her parents were Lars Hobæk and Martha Aarvold. Both of her parents were educators. She graduated from the Sandefjord Gymnasium in 1943. In 1947, she graduated from Oslo lærerhøgskole with a degree in education. Upon completing her education, she moved to Denmark and taught school for 24 years before returning to Oslo in 1972.
She made her debut with the novel Raset in 1956. She has written both contemporary and historical novels. Her writing has been characterized by original narrative and often by poetical imagination. Her works have also featured both mythical and allegorical interpretation. Her novels have been translated into several languages including English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Lithuanian.

Personal life

She was married twice. In 1948, she married Jørgen Haff. Their marriage was dissolved in 1961. In 1964, she married Søren Christensen. Their marriage was dissolved in 1972. Her daughter Marianne Hobæk Haff is a professor of French linguistics at the University of Oslo.

Awards

Haff was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature in 1962 for Bålet. She received the Dobloug Prize in 1985, the Norwegian Academy Prize in 1988 and the Aschehoug Prize in 1989. She also was awarded the Brage Prize in 1996 for Skammen, the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 1996, for Skammen and the Riksmål Society Literature Prize in 1996. She was nominated twice for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize, once for Den guddommelige tragedie and again for Renhetens pris.