KINCK, HANS E(RNST)

born Oct. 11, 1865, ksfjord, Nor. died Oct. 13, 1926, Oslo prolific Norwegian novelist, short-story writer, dramatist, essayist, and Neoromanticist whose works reflect his preoccupation with the past and his lifelong interest in national psychology. Kinck was educated at King Frederick's University, Kristiania, and was strongly interested in Norwegian folklore. He used philology and history to uncover what he called the hidden forces behind the development of nations. The picture that he gives of Norwegian rural life is rather grim, as evidenced in the volume of short stories Fra hav til hei (1897; From Sea to Mountain). Kinck's best writing is probably such short stories and those in the more lyrical collection Flaggermus-vinger (1895; Bat's Wings); but his principal work is the three-volume novel Sneskavlen brast (191819; The Avalanche Broke), dealing with the clash between the peasantry and the professional classes.