WILDENVEY, HERMAN

born July 20, 1886, Eikar, Norway died Sept. 27, 1959, Larvik pseudonym of Herman Theodor Portaas Norwegian poet whose sunny songs of simple sensual pleasure are unusual in the sombre history of Norwegian verse. After returning from three years in the United States, Wildenvey published his first collection of verse, Nyinger (1907; Bonfires). He developed a technique of constructing his verse so as to give it a lightness matching its mood, as in such collections as Kjrtegn (1916; Caresses), Hstens lyre (1931; The Lyre of Autumn), and many others. He was able to extract fresh effects from language and give new life to the most hackneyed phrases. Owls to Athens, a selection of his poems in English translation, was published in 1935.