Kaj Skagen

Kaj Skagen (b 1949, Norway) has “been an enfant terrible in Norway’s literary and political debate ever since he made his debut, because of his views as much as his way of presenting them,” Eivind Tjønneland writes in Norsk biografisk leksikon.

Skagen made his literary debut in 1971 with Gatedikt. He won the Gyldendal novel competition in 1982 with Broene brenner, which introduced him to a wider audience. Skagen unleashed a broad debate in 1983 with his essay collection Bazarovs barn, where he criticised the perception of people expressed in the politically oriented literature of the 1970s.

He ran into massive opposition in 1988 with the novel Himmelen vet ingenting, which dealt with the suicide of a well-known Norwegian publishing editor. The critically praised novel Hodeskallestedet appeared in 1994. Skagen worked for 16 years on Morgen ved midnatt. Den unge Rudolf Steiners liv og samtid, verk og horisont 1861–1902, a biography of Rudolf Steiner which appeared in 2015. He has been a regular commentator in Dag og Tid since 2009.