Olav Aukrust

Olav Aukrust (1883-1929), Norwegian poet, born in Gudbrandsdal, Norway. Aukrust avidly studied the dialects of his land and incorporated them into his works. His chief collections of poetry are loosely joined cycles dominated by certain basic ideas about the problems of national culture: Himmelvarden (Cairn of Heaven, 1916), Hamar i Hellom (Hamar of the Rocks, 1926), and Solrenning (Sunrise, 1930). Aukrust drew inspiration from his natural surroundings as well as from Norwegian folk legend. He sought to preserve, through his verse, the traditions and history of Norway.