Bjørg Vik Obituary

Norwegian author and playwright Bjørg Vik, who was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize three times, passed away on Sunday evening at 82 years of age.

Bjørg Vik began her career as a journalist for Porsgrunns Dagblad (1956-1960), and made her literary debut in 1963 with the short story collection Søndag ettermiddag (Sunday Afternoon).

Her work often reflected upon the ties that bound women to traditional gender roles through the 60s and 70s, and she went on to co-found the feminist magazine Sirene (1973–1983).

In 1974, Bjørg Vik’s feminist play To akter for fem kvinner (Two plays for five women) was a hit throughout the Nordic region, and even reached Broadway, but it wasn’t until 1992 that she was awarded the Ibsen Prize for her play Reisen til Venezia (The Journey To Venice).

However, it was between 1988 and 1994 that Bjørg Vik published the semi-autobiographical Elsi Lund trilogy of novels about adolescence and maturity in post-war Oslo, which are said to be the works she was most proud of.