Tor Obrestad

Tor Obrestad
Born	(1938-02-12)12 February 1938 Hå, Norway
Died	25 January 2020(2020-01-25) (aged 81) Nærbø, Norway
Occupation	Novelist, poet and documentary writer
Nationality	Norwegian
Period	1966–2020
Genre	Poetry, short stories, biography

Tor Obrestad (12 February 1938 – 25 January 2020) was a Norwegian novelist, poet and documentary writer.

Early and personal life

Obrestad was born in Hå on 12 February 1938.^[1] His parents were farmer Jon R. Obrestad and Sophie Riise.^[2]

He studied at the teacher's college in Elverum and worked as a schoolteacher, and then studied at the University of Oslo. He eventually became a full-time writer, and was also assigned as journalist for the newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad.^[2] He died on 25 January 2020.^[1]

Literary career

Obrestad made his literary debut in 1966 with two books, the poetry collection Kollisjon and a collection of short stories, Vind,^[1] and received Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris for these two books. He was a member of the so-called Profil generation in 1968, the circle attached to the literary magazine Profil.^[3] He wrote biographies on Arne Garborg, Hulda Garborg, Alexander Kielland and Einar Førde.^[1]

His novel Sauda! Streik! from 1972 was adapted for a film directed by Oddvar Bull Tuhus in 1975.^[1]

Selected works

• Kollisjon, poetry, 1966
• Vind, short stories, 1966
• Vårt daglige brød, poetry, 1968
• Marionettar, novel, 1969
• Den norske løve, poetry, 1970
• Sauda! Streik!, novel, 1972
• Sauda og Shanghai, poetry, 1973
• Stå saman, poetry, 1974
• Tolken, short stories, 1975
• Baba Anastasia og andre tekster, short stories, 1976
• Stå på! Roman om ein arbeidskonflikt, novel, 1976
• Vinterdikt, poetry, 1979
• Reisa til bestemor, children's book, 1980
• Ein gong må du seie adjø, novel, 1981
• Sjå Jæren, gamle Jæren, short stories, 1982
• Kamelen i Jomarskogen, children's book, 1985
• Misteltein, poetry, 1987
• Seks netter, seks dagar, novel, 1989
• Arne Garborg, biography, 1991
• Hulda, biography of Hulda Garborg, 1992
• Forsøk på å halde fast tida, short stories, 1993
• Mimosa, myosotis, rosmarin, poetry, 1994
• Sannhetens pris. Alexander Kielland, biography, 1996
• Jæren. Eld or blått. Ei samling poesi i ord og bilete, poetry, 1997
• Bernhards mor. En drøm, novel, 1998
• Kvinnene i Casablanca og andre historier, short stories, 2002
• Krokodillen Alexander og navigator emeritus, Reinert i Sjøhusgaten. Ei oppbyggeleg fortelling frå ein liten by, children's book, 2002
• Einar Førde, biography, 2007

Awards

• Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris 1966
• Gyldendal's Endowment 1971

References

1. Rottem, Øystein. "Tor Obrestad". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
2. Rottem, Øystein. "Tor Obrestad". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
3. "Obrestad, Tor – Bakgrunn" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 2008-10-14.