Alf Larsen

Gravestone of Norwegian writer Alf Larsen (1885–1967) in the churchyard outside Tjøme kirke, a Lutheran church on the island of Tjøme in Færder Municipality, Norway. A granite tombstone with a rosencrucian inscription in Latin: ("From God we are born, In Christ we die, In the Holy Spirit we are reborn"). Photographed April 2020

Alf Larsen (22 July 1885 – 12 December 1967) was a Norwegian poet, essayist and magazine editor.

He made his literary debut in 1912 with the poetry collection Vinterlandet. In 1921, he bought Rød Gård in Tjøme. He supported Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy, and edited the magazine Janus from 1933 to 1941. He co-founded the publishing house Dreyers Forlag in 1942. He was awarded the Gyldendal's Endowment in 1959.

Subsequent evaluations In 2009 Larsen was declared to be an antisemite by historian Jan Erik Ebbestad Hansen, who in archives found a pamphlet named Jødeproblemet ("The Jew Problem"). Historian Hans Fredrik Dahl referred to Larsen as "the worst Jew-hater of Norwegian twentieth-century literature".

However, Larsen's post-war openly expressed antipathy towards the Jews may not represent the complete truth on this sensitive matter, as one of his favourite authors is known to have been the Jewish-born Catholic philosopher Max Picard. Larsen had also several times rejected the racial theories of the Nazis in Janus. (see JANUS - et tidsskrift og en tid, by Terje Gerotti Simonsen). It seems, that Larsen's views after World War II for some reason - some say because the absence of his late wife's mellowing influence—happened to become increasingly cliche-filled and eventually right out antisemitic.

Awards Gyldendal's Endowment – 1959 Dobloug Prize – 1961