Hans E. Kinck
Encyclopedia
Hans Ernst Kinck (ˈçɪŋk) (11 October 1865 – 13 October 1926) was a Norwegian
author
and philologist
who wrote novel
s, short stories
, drama
s, and essay
s.
He was born in Øksfjord
in Loppa
, Finnmark
, where his father was the local health inspector. He died in Oslo
.
s, short stories and plays as well as a number of essays on historical and political subjects. He travelled extensively and lived in Italy
for long periods. Half of his literary production is related to Italian topics.
Kinck often explores the workings of love and tenderness, and the difference between the mass of humanity and individuals. In his more political works, he warns against fascism
...a trend that grows stronger in his later writings.
Kinck also wrote about struggling artists, the misunderstandings they met with, and their reactions towards them.
is a prime example; also, a play based on the life of Pietro Aretino
called Den Sidste Gjæst/The Last Guest).
His other Italian pieces are based on stories by Boccaccio, and are rooted in medieval tradition, exploring the ways of love and passion.
Kinck also wrote four "Norwegian" plays, with a contemporary setting. They take place in small western valleys, exploring class warfare and the approach of modernity. His greatest play is generally considered to be Driftekaren (The Herdsman) (with references to Peer Gynt
). It tells of a man who is a "trader and a poet", and how "humanity grows forth" in him (as Kinck puts it). His last play was a sequel to this, written in 1925.
Many of his plays were performed in the theatre created by Ingeborg Refling Hagen
, who was willing to stage even the longest marathon performances; some lasting for ten hours.
His first collection of novels, Flaggermusvinger (Batwings), is a typical symbolist work. Here, he explores the connection between man and nature and the conflict between the forces of nature and the forces of the human mind, especially guilt, passion and fear. Some of the stories are reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe
in style. The book is also titled "Tales From the West", as all of them are set in Western Norway.
Three of his short stories were made into the motion picture Batwings in 1992.
and the approach of fascism
. He also wrote about the mafia
. The Norwegian essays analyzed the split between the saga
and the medieval ballad, focusing on the changes in the mood and styles of storytelling from pagan to Christian times in Norway.
. Groven wrote a number of songs based on texts from Kinck's plays. His first symphony is inspired by the play Driftekaren. Wolfgang Plagge has also composed music based on themes from his novels. Randall Meyers scored the movie Flaggermusvinger (Batwings, 1992), based on three of Kinck's short stories.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and philologist
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
who wrote novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
s, and essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s.
He was born in Øksfjord
Øksfjord
Øksfjord is the administrative centre of Loppa municipality, Norway. Its population is 510. Visited by Hurtigruten daily, it is located between Skjervøy and Hammerfest...
in Loppa
Loppa
Loppa is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Øksfjord. Loppa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
, Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
, where his father was the local health inspector. He died in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.
Works
Kinck wrote NovelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, short stories and plays as well as a number of essays on historical and political subjects. He travelled extensively and lived in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for long periods. Half of his literary production is related to Italian topics.
Kinck often explores the workings of love and tenderness, and the difference between the mass of humanity and individuals. In his more political works, he warns against fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
...a trend that grows stronger in his later writings.
Kinck also wrote about struggling artists, the misunderstandings they met with, and their reactions towards them.
Plays
Kinck's plays are very lengthy and are often regarded as pieces for reading, not for performing. When played in full, some of his plays last for seven hours or more. They are often closely connected to his essays; expanding on and dramatizing their ideas. His great historical play Mot Karneval (Towards Carnival), based on the life of Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
is a prime example; also, a play based on the life of Pietro Aretino
Pietro Aretino
Pietro Aretino was an Italian author, playwright, poet and satirist who wielded immense influence on contemporary art and politics and invented modern literate pornography.- Life :...
called Den Sidste Gjæst/The Last Guest).
His other Italian pieces are based on stories by Boccaccio, and are rooted in medieval tradition, exploring the ways of love and passion.
Kinck also wrote four "Norwegian" plays, with a contemporary setting. They take place in small western valleys, exploring class warfare and the approach of modernity. His greatest play is generally considered to be Driftekaren (The Herdsman) (with references to Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
). It tells of a man who is a "trader and a poet", and how "humanity grows forth" in him (as Kinck puts it). His last play was a sequel to this, written in 1925.
Many of his plays were performed in the theatre created by Ingeborg Refling Hagen
Ingeborg Refling Hagen
Ingeborg Refling Hagen was a Norwegian author and teacher.- Early life :Ingeborg Refling Hagen was born in Hedmark, Norway, in the parish Tangen besides Mjøsa, as the fourth child of the local miller...
, who was willing to stage even the longest marathon performances; some lasting for ten hours.
Short stories
Kinck wrote many collections of short stories, dealing with both Italy and Norway. Here he told of Norwegian farmers and Norwegian tourists in Italy, sometimes from a comical viewpoint. Many of the shorter pieces are still widely popular.His first collection of novels, Flaggermusvinger (Batwings), is a typical symbolist work. Here, he explores the connection between man and nature and the conflict between the forces of nature and the forces of the human mind, especially guilt, passion and fear. Some of the stories are reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
in style. The book is also titled "Tales From the West", as all of them are set in Western Norway.
Three of his short stories were made into the motion picture Batwings in 1992.
Novels
Kinck's novels are mostly placed in a Norwegian setting. They typically involve the approach of modernity and the lack of dialogue between farmers and those in power.Essays
Kincks essays are mostly historical. He wrote much on Italian topics, analyzing the renaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and the approach of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. He also wrote about the mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. The Norwegian essays analyzed the split between the saga
Saga
Sagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
and the medieval ballad, focusing on the changes in the mood and styles of storytelling from pagan to Christian times in Norway.
Music inspired by his work
Two composers have written music to works by Kinck: Ludvig Irgens-Jensen and Eivind GrovenEivind Groven
Eivind Groven was a Norwegian microtonal composer and music-theorist. He was from Telemark and had his background in the folk music of the area.- Biography :...
. Groven wrote a number of songs based on texts from Kinck's plays. His first symphony is inspired by the play Driftekaren. Wolfgang Plagge has also composed music based on themes from his novels. Randall Meyers scored the movie Flaggermusvinger (Batwings, 1992), based on three of Kinck's short stories.
Selected works
- 1892: Huldren, novel
- 1893: Ungt Folk, novel (A Young People, translated by Barent Ten Eyck, New York, E.P. Dutton & co., inc. [1929], 282 p.)
- 1895: Flaggermus-vinger, short stories
- 1897: Fra Hav til Hei, short stories
- 1918–19: Sneskavlen Brast I–III, novel