Knut Hamsun is referred to as perhaps the most influential Norwegian author of the last century.
In 1920, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for the novel “Growth of the Soil.” However, Hamsun is best known for the classic “Hunger” from 1890.
But the world-renowned Nobel laureate was also known as a traitor, a Nazi, and a racist.
The author was a great supporter of Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda in Germany. Goebbels had also been a great admirer of Hamsun’s books for many years.
In 1943, Knut Hamsun gave his Nobel Prize from 1920 to Goebbels.
Now, a controversial publisher has recreated Knut Hamsun’s voice with artificial intelligence.
Knut Hamsun was a staunch supporter of the Nazis. Here he is welcomed at Fornebu Airport by Josef Terboven in 1943. Hamsun returned from a major Nazi assignment in Vienna and a personal visit to Adolf Hitler.
Photo: Cappelen Damm
On Knut Hamsun’s birthday, August 4, Legatum Publishing will release “Hunger” as an audiobook with Knut Hamsun’s voice using artificial intelligence. The audiobook will be in English.
Will launch the book during Hamsun Days
The publisher writes on Facebook that they will launch the audiobook during Hamsun Days, held annually at the Hamsun Center in Hamarøy.
From Facebook, it states: – We will be present until the end of the festival on August 10. With this, we want to keep alive the international community of Hamsun lovers, as well as give new generations of literature lovers a chance to discover Hamsun’s magical world.
Tore Rasmussen is the publishing manager and has answered questions via email.
He emphasizes that they do not have an official event at Hamsun Center itself, but that they will participate to meet others who are interested in Knut Hamsun.
– Have you notified Hamsun Center that you are coming?
– I believe they are aware of it now. We have not contacted them to be part of the official program since we planned to have launched the book several weeks ago.
– Hamsun Center says that they do not want you at Hamsun Days because you have been accused of representing a far-right ideology. What do you think about that?
– Attempts to smear Legatum Publishing are seen by us as a tactic used by individuals placed far out on the left. As I stated to Klassekampen in September last year; our starting point is that a new release of Hamsun’s collected works is fitting, despite his support for Germany. We must take a deep breath and focus on the literary aspects.
– What will you do if you are not welcome?
– It sounds like a media-generated issue.
The Hamsun Center indicates that the launch is not part of the program and that the publisher has not been invited to this year’s Hamsun Days.
Director Solveig Hirsch at the Hamsun Center is nevertheless not surprised by the upcoming visit.
– Hamsun’s political stance is something we cannot change. This year, we have opened a major exhibition entitled “The Controversial Hamsun,” which thematically addresses his Nazi sympathies quite clearly.
– We wish to highlight these narratives because we think they are an important part of the contemporary context we are currently in, where such things occur, she says.
– The problem is that we do not want to contribute to giving a platform or publicity to this type of publishing activity.
– What do you mean by this type of publishing activity?
– We do not wish to support far-right publishers.
– And so they are not welcome?
– We are open to everyone. They are welcome as an audience. They are not part of our program. They have not been invited here by us.
Knut Hamsun in his writing study at Nørholm in 1929.
Photo: Anders Beer Wilse Dextrafoto, Teknisk museum
The family reacts: – An outrage
Hamsun’s grandchildren also strongly react to the planned launch.
– We find it incredibly tasteless to create an AI-generated voice of our grandfather considering that he was hearing impaired, with a voice shaped by that.
This is written by Regine Hamsun, who is the author’s grandchild, in an email to NRK.
Hamsun Center has been compared to an outhouse and called “a vertical impertinence in the landscape.”
Photo: Ernst Furuhatt/Nordlandsmuseet
– When we in the family clearly express that this is cynical exploitation, I find it very callous not to respect that. Regardless of the rights issue.
No one has copyright on Hamsun’s voice since more than 70 years have passed since the author’s death.
Hamsun was welcomed by the Reichskommissar in Norway, Josef Terboven. Hamsun came straight from Berlin where he had met Adolf Hitler and tried to persuade him to get rid of Terboven.
Photo: Cappelen Damm
– This is completely grotesque and an outrage – something we in the family obviously do not want, she believes.
The grandchild has noted that Legatum Publishing is described as both racist and far-right by most in the publishing industry.
– That only makes it even more unpalatable. It was only a year ago that the industry wanted to exclude Legatum from the Publishers Association, which shows how unserious they are.
She adds:
– Now that grandfather’s works are no longer protected, I assume that pursuing this legally will be a lengthy process. Nonetheless, it is cynical and ugly that Legatum chooses to exploit grandfather’s works in this way. Ideally, I wish there were guidelines on how one can utilize an artist’s legacy. At least as long as the immediate family is alive.
Knut Hamsun was known in his time as a Nazi sympathizer, as he wrote appeals for the Nazi regime in several newspapers. In our time, the obituary of Adolf Hitler’s death is probably the most famous. It was published in Aftenposten’s evening edition on May 7, 1945.
Photo: Aftenposten
She says that she sincerely hopes that people do not waste their money on what she calls “speculative garbage.”
Publisher Tore Rasmussen regrets that the grandchild does not appreciate the project.
– We regret that Hamsun’s grandchild does not value our project to bring Hamsun forward to future generations, through the sound based on his voice. Our ethical considerations would be simpler had his descendants been grateful for the development. We believe Hamsun’s authorship is an important part of Norwegian cultural history and global literary heritage and should be conveyed to the next generation with the technology we now have available.
Knut Hamsun in Bodø in 1914.
Photo: Anders Beer Wilse. Dextrafoto: Teknisk museum
– Exclusionary nationalism
Anne Bitsch is an author and social geographer, and has written several books and articles about the far right and neo-Nazism.
She describes Legatum Publishing as a far-right publisher that is very concerned with what they call mass immigration.
Therefore, they also promote literature with a strong focus on cultural differences and us-versus-them thinking, according to Bitsch.
– The publisher, Tore Rasmussen, is someone who has traveled politically from being an active part of a neo-Nazi environment in Eastern Norway in his teens and early twenties to becoming part of what is called the Identitarian Movement in his adult life.
Bitsch informs that the Identitarian Movement originated in France and has also had branches in Austria and Germany. It is part of what is called a far-right environment.
– They focus a lot on what they call cultural identity. But in reality, it is an exclusionary nationalism they stand for. They are very concerned about what they call mass immigration. What is important to keep in mind is that the publisher at Legatum Publishing has a past in a militant Nazi environment.
Controversial center: – Shut it down
The Hamsun Center is a national center and museum dedicated to Hamsun’s life and authorship.
The Hamsun Center is located in Hamarøy, where Hamsun grew up. The building was completed on Knut Hamsun’s 150th birthday, August 4, 2009, and the following year the museum opened its doors to the public.
SIGNAL BUILDING: Hamsun Center in Presteid in Hamarøy municipality. There have been debates about the appearance of the center.
Photo: Ingrid Gulbrandsen Årdal / NRK
Since its opening, there have been several debates regarding the building’s appearance. When the center opened, it was compared to an outhouse.
The artist Karl Erik Harr referred to the center as “a vertical impertinence in the landscape.”
But it is not only the appearance that has provoked.
Two years ago, literary researcher and Hamsun expert Ståle Dingstad harshly criticized the center, stating that it should be shut down.
– The Hamsun Center “celebrates a Nazi” and should be removed. I believe it will be well received that one shuts down a center that is essentially a celebration of a Nazi.
Director Solveig Hirsch at the Hamsun Center explains that the Hamsun Center is an open museum.
– However, we do not share Hamsun’s position; we do not share his political views. We manage the cultural heritage that comes from him, and the fact that far-right individuals identify with us and our work is something we do not want.
The national center for Knut Hamsun’s life and authorship works with dissemination and management of all heritage, including the political, she emphasizes.
– As a museum, we also believe in showcasing and telling the difficult and controversial stories surrounding Hamsun. Because we believe these are important discussions to hold in our contemporary context, in order to contribute to a better future.
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