HAMSUN, KNUT (1859— . ), Norwegian author, was born on Aug. 4, 18J9, at Lom in the Gudbrandsdal valley, the son of poor parents. He started to write at the age of 19 when he was a shoemaker's apprentice at Bodo in north Norway, and for the next ten years earned his livelihood in various ways, e.g., as coal trimmer and country schoolmaster. He eventually went to America, where he became a tram conductor in Chicago and a farm labourer on the prairies. In 1888 he published, in a Danish magazine, the fragment of a novel, Sult, which was later trans lated into English, as Hunger. This work at once attracted atten tion by the beauty of style and originality of treatment. His works from this time onward revealed a richness of talent which rapidly increased his reputation. He is akin to the Russians in his psychological analysis of morbid types, but the American influence is apparent in his use of startling metaphors and the aptness of his expressions. An intense love of nature characterizes his work. He is chiefly known to the.English-speaking world by three novels, Hunger, Growth of the Soil and The Woman at the Well. In 1920 Hamsun was honored with the award of the Nobel Prize for literature.