Jan Jakob Tønseth

Jan Jakob Tønseth (1 September 1947 – 12 October 2018) was a Norwegian author, poet and translator.

Tønseth debuted as a poet with the poetry collection Kimærer in 1971, when he was only 24 years of age. He achieved broad recognition as a novelist with his trilogy about the ex-communist Hilmar Iversen (Hilmar Iversens ensomhet (1992), Et vennskap (1997) and Resignasjon og portvin (2002)). Tønseth was a member of Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature.

Poetry

 * Kimærer – poetry collection (1971)
 * I denne tid – poetry collection, (1974)
 * Synlige dikt – poetry collection (1977)
 * Referanser (fjerne og nære) – poetry collection (1979)
 * Lengsel og lede – poetry collection (1987)
 * Motgift – poetry collection (1994)
 * Fromme vers for enkle sjeler – poetry collection (2008) ISBN 978-82-02-28679-8

Prose

 * Drømmer og løgner – prose (1982)
 * På krigsfot med virkeligheten – essay collection (1984)
 * Antagelser – (1984), together with John David Nielsen (malerier) )
 * Hilmar Iversens ensomhet – novel (1992) )
 * Et vennskap – novel (1997)
 * En rar skrue – biography of Kjell Aukrust (2000)
 * Resignasjon og portvin – novel (2002)
 * Dikteren på terskelen – essays (2005)
 * Von Aschenbachs fristelse – short story collection (2006)

Translated poetry

 * Arthur Rimbaud: Illuminasjoner (1981), together with Arne Kjell Haugen
 * Stéphane Mallarmé: Utvalgte tekster (1983), together with Arne Kjell Haugen
 * Guillaume Apollinaire: Alkoholer (1985), together with Arne Kjell Haugen
 * Henri Michaux: Mellom sentrum og fravær (1989), together with Arne Kjell Haugen
 * Guillaume Apollinaire: Dyreboken eller Orfeus´ følge (originally ‘’Le bestiaire ou le cortège d’Orphée’’) (1998)
 * José Hierro: New York-notater (2004)
 * Édouard Glissant: De vestindiske øyer (2005)
 * Roberto Bolaño: De noveltiske hundene (2008), together with Kristina Solum

Prizes and recognition

 * Gyldendals legat 1977
 * Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 1990
 * P2-lytternes novelpris 1997
 * Cappelenprisen 2002
 * Dobloug Prize 2007