Knut Hamsun

Knut Hamsun (born Knut Pedersen, 1859–1952) was a Norwegian writer. Before achieving his literary breakthrough with the strongly autobiographical novel Hunger in 1890, he worked in various occupations, including schoolteacher, deputy sheriff, farm laborer, and shop assistant. The novel is regarded as an important precursor of literary modernism and is noted for its psychological portrayal of loneliness and poverty. Hamsun published numerous novels and plays, including Pan and Growth of the Soil. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 for Growth of the Soil.