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Odd Irtun
Poetry has been a form of life for Odd Irtun.
His style of writing is characterised by a lyrical
quality.
Irtun was born in Narvik, Norway, in 1925.
He graduated from Oslo University – Cand.
Philology – with an MA in Philology (he
majored in English literature). From 1958 to
1992 he worked as a lecturer, vice principal
and inspector at the Ringve Secondary School,
Trondheim. He also gave pedagogic seminars
at the University of Trondheim.
Irtun spent every winter in Cyprus over a ten-
year period and developed a great affection for
the island; this affection is reflected in his books
of poems: “Spor” (2001) and “Kjærlighets
krefter” (2007). He also wrote many articles
about the history, culture and politics of Cyprus,
many of which were published in Norwegian
papers.
In 2009 he was diagnosed with inoperable
stomach cancer. After the diagnosis he gathered
his courage and wrote his final and highly
acclaimed book of poems about facing death
and reviewing his life, “Betenkningstid” (2009).
He died on 20 February 2011 in Trondheim.