HAUK – THE NORWEGIAN APHORIST

“…An aphorism is a short witty sentence which expresses a general truth or comment  or a pithy observation which contains a general truth…” so far the definition of aphorism.

The famous Norwegian aphorist, Gunnar Hauk Gjengset, has made it again publishing his own written aphorisms. His latest book was released in 2018 by his own publishing company HAUK Forlag AS. It is a small book contenting a critical selection of his already published aphorisms. Only 114 pages. The Norwegian title of the book is: “ Som oftest er det snarere tvert imot og andre sukk”. HAUK or Gunnar Hauk Gjengset, began writing aphorisms about 40 years ago. The Norwegian newspaper “Adressavisen ” located in the City of Trondheim,Norway,  found his writing interesting . For about 25 years the newspaper published his aphorisms. The aim of writing short sentences contenting witty observations mixed with some truth is not to make you laugh only. No. The writer is making an attempt to create general statements in the texts to convey a moral or philosophical idea hoping to present an universal truth. Anyway , reading the book I could not resist the temptation of laughing too much because I saw the fun described in the texts. But I know that HAUK is a serious working man. He is not an easy going man but rather a complicated person whose life is a story of dramatic events. For your information only: He was arrested in the former Soviet Union in January 1970 for demonstrating against the Brezhnev regime. Leaflets supporting the release of author Yuri Galanskov and Pyotr Grigorensko  were distributed by Gunnar Hauk Gjengset in Leningrad .He was sentenced  to one year of imprisonment . Due to international pressure ,he was released after a month in prison. His experience as a prisoner in Soviet Union was published in his book: “ Behind The Iron Curtain”.

KLASSEKAMPEN – NORWEGIAN  NATIONAL NEWSPAPER

Under the pseudonym ,HAUK, aphorisms are still published in the national newspaper, KLASSEKAMPEN. The daily column, Dagens sukk, - or in English: Sign of the DAY, has made the newspaper famous in Norway.

Gunnar Hauk Gjengset has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Umeå University in Sweden. He has written several books including plays and a biography of Gustav Vigeland the famous Norwegian sculptor.

Let me give you an impression of the content of his latest book. Sorry, but I have to quote in Norwegian.

“…Litteratur er en neddempet versjon av virkeligheten…”,  “…å passe tiden er anstrengende – den løper hele tiden fra en…”, “ … det viktigste ved enhver dag er at den aldri kommer igjen…”, ” …kunnskap er ikke å vite alt, men å vite hvor kunnskap finnes…”- and so we can go on for ever.

Good luck reading the book yourself. How to get the book: Contact the writer. Gjengset@online.no or teddnord@getmail.no

 Gunnar Hauk Gjengset  is making a presentation of his book.

 Tedd Urnes( left in the photo) and Gunnar Hauk Gjengset