Profil (literary magazine)
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Profil was a Norwegian literary magazine which had great influence in the late 1960s and the 1970s. The magazine was founded in 1938 as Filologen, a house organ for the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Oslo. Its name was changed to Profil in 1959. In 1966 the magazine was taken over by a group of radical students.[1] They opposed established literary views, and introduced the modernist literature.[2] The circle of writers that emerged are often referred to as the "Profil Generation".
Modernism[edit]
Among the contributors to the magazine were Jan Erik Vold, Dag Solstad, Tor Obrestad, Espen Haavardsholm, Eldrid Lunden, Liv Køltzow, Paal-Helge Haugen, Einar Økland and Stein Mehren.[1][2] Realistic novels and symbolist poetry were attacked, while modernist literature was introduced and supported.[2] In addition, the magazine was employed as a forum to discuss modernism and Marxism.[3]
Political period[edit]
Between 1959 and 1966 Profil was a student magazine.[4] In 1966 the magazine's editorial board was taken over by a literary group who named themselves as a new generation of modernists.[5]
From 1968 and onwards several of the Profil writers became politically left wing activists, and started writing political poems, songs and novels. Examples of so-called working class literature are Obrestad's poetry collection Vårt daglege brød (1968), Haavardsholm's novel Zink (1971), Solstad's novel Arild Asnes 1970 (1971) and Obrestad's novel Sauda! Streik! (1972).[2] Liv Køltzow's novel Hvem bestemmer over Bjørg og Unni? (1972) is regarded as Norway's first example of militant and socialist feminism.[2]
Profil became a forum for Maoists in the country from 1970 to 1981.[4]
Song books[edit]
The Profil songbooks were eight books issued 1972–1975, subtitled Songar frå folkets kamp.[2]
Post-modernism[edit]
The magazine disappeared in 1981.[4] It was relaunched in 1984 as a general cultural magazine and was closed in 1989.[1][4] Some of the most profiled political writers from the 1970s later concluded that the working class literature experiment was a failure.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Profil". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian).[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g Dahl, Willy (1989). Norges Litteratur. III:Tid og tekst 1935–1972 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug. pp. 376pp. ISBN 82-03-16004-2.
- ^ Jan Sjåvik (19 April 2006). Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Literature and Theater. Scarecrow Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-8108-6501-3. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in the Nordic Countries 1950-1975. BRILL. 14 March 2016. p. 218. ISBN 978-90-04-31050-6. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ Janet Garton (1 December 2000). Norwegian Women's Writing 1850-1990. A&C Black. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-567-38757-8. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
