Alf Prøysen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alf Prøysen (23 July 1914 - 23 November 1970), was a writer and musician from Norway. He was born at Rudshøgda in Ringsaker. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the twentieth century, and he made significant contributions to literature, music, TV and radio.

His childhood was typical for those of the husmann class, the landless lower class of rural Norway. This reflects in his songs and short stories, painting realistic, satirical and harsh pictures of class relations and life in rural Norway.

Though an underdog and outsider, Prøysen made outstanding contributions in many artistic fields: children's radio, short stories, theatre, singer-songwriter. His sole novel Trost i taklampa was a great success both as a book and as a play, depicting the Norwegian 1950's increasing urbanization and its effect on rural life.

His work includes the stories about Mrs. Pepperpot, a delightful little lady who never knows when she is going to shrink to pepperpot size. In the Norwegian original, she is known as "Teskjekjerringa"; the teaspoon lady.

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007)

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.