Nils Nilsen Ronning
Encyclopedia
Nils Nilsen Ronning (May 19, 1870 – June 25, 1962) was an American author, journalist and editor.
in Telemark
, Norway
. After he emigrated to America in 1887, he attended the Faribault
public school. He had studied for the Lutheran ministry and attended the Haugean
Lutheran church Red Wing Seminary
from 1887 to 1892. He graduated from the University of Minnesota
at 1892-96 (BA, MA).
appeared in The Friend.
As an author, Ronning was a prolific writer whose writings appeared in both the Norwegian and English languages. Among the writings of Ronning are several books and a group of short stories. He also completed a number of popular travel narratives and popular religious literature.
His most noteworthy work was the book Gutten fra Norge first published during 1924. This work was subsequently translated and issued in English as Lars Lee, The Boy From Norway during 1928. The book provided a portrayal of the religious life of rural Norway in the 1860s. The story of Lars Lee as a pastor in the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America was continued in the novel A Servant of the Lord which was published during 1931.
Background
Nils Nilsen Ronning was born in BøBø, Telemark
Bø is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Midt-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bø i Telemark. The municipality of Bø was established on 1 January 1838...
in Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
, Norway
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...
. After he emigrated to America in 1887, he attended the Faribault
Faribault County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,181 people, 6,652 households, and 4,476 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile . There were 7,247 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
public school. He had studied for the Lutheran ministry and attended the Haugean
Haugean
Haugean was a pietistic state church reform movementintended to bring new life and vitality into a Norwegian State Church which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy....
Lutheran church Red Wing Seminary
Red Wing Seminary
Red Wing Seminary was a Lutheran Church seminary located in Red Wing, Minnesota.-History:Red Wing Seminary was the educational center for the Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod in America, commonly known as the Hauge Synod. The synod de-emphasizing formal worship and stressing personal...
from 1887 to 1892. He graduated from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
at 1892-96 (BA, MA).
Career
Ronning was a journalist and publisher who was associated with several newspapers and magazines published in Minneapolis. Ronning was associated with Ungdommens Ven from 1899-1916; Familiens Magasin from 1916-1917; and The North Star from 1917-22. In 1923, Ronning started to publish The Friend. Unlike the Norwegian language magazines he had initiated earlier, The Friend was published in the English language and proved a success. The magazine featured mainstream popular religious fiction and progressive themes. Norwegian-American writers such as Dorthea DahlDorthea Dahl
Dorthea Dahl was a Norwegian-born American writer. She wrote numerous short stories for magazines, wrote and published collections of short stories and wrote a novel. Dahl has been recognized for her great contributions to Norwegian-American literature.-Biography:Dahl was born in Osen in...
appeared in The Friend.
As an author, Ronning was a prolific writer whose writings appeared in both the Norwegian and English languages. Among the writings of Ronning are several books and a group of short stories. He also completed a number of popular travel narratives and popular religious literature.
His most noteworthy work was the book Gutten fra Norge first published during 1924. This work was subsequently translated and issued in English as Lars Lee, The Boy From Norway during 1928. The book provided a portrayal of the religious life of rural Norway in the 1860s. The story of Lars Lee as a pastor in the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America was continued in the novel A Servant of the Lord which was published during 1931.
Selected works
- A Summer in Telemarken (1903)
- En sommer i Telemark (1904)
- Abraham Lincoln (1909)
- Bare for moro (1913)
- Gutten fra Norge (1924)
- Da stjernene sang (1925)
- Lars Lee: The Boy from Norway ( 1928)
- A Servant of the Lord (1931)
- The Living Word: Selected Bible Passages and Bible Readings (1931)
- The Boy from Telemark (1933)
- Words of Comfort: Precious Passages from Holy Scripture (1937)
- Fifty Years in America (1938)
- Lars O. Skrefsrud: An apostle to the Santals (1940)
- The Saga of Old Muskego (1943)
- Pioneer Sketches from Webster, Rice County, Minnesota (1947)
- Select Sketches (1949)
Other Reading
- Skårdal, Dorothy Burton The Scandinavian Immigrant Writer in America (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Northfield, Minn. 1962)
- Skårdal, Dorothy Burton The Divided Heart: Scandinavian immigrant Experience through Literary Sources (Univ of Nebraska Press. Lincoln, Nebraska: 1974)
- Øverland, Orm. The Western Home: A Literary History of Norwegian America (University of Illinois Press. 1996)