Knut Ødegård

Born in 1945 in Molde, Norway, Ødegård made his poetic debut in 1967.

[1] His own works are recognized internationally as deeply original and high quality poetry and his poetry books are translated into 42 languages (2022), among these five separate collections in English.

[1] He was the founder and president of the Bjørnson Festival, the Norwegian International Literature Festival, held in homage to Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, for a decade.

He was the founder and president of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson-Akademiet, The Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression, 2003–2015.

Ødegård is appointed a Norwegian State Scholar by the Norwegian Parliament as well as a Consul General for the Republic of Macedonia in Norway (1997) and an honorary professor of literature at the Mongolian State University of Arts and Culture,[1] and he has received many prizes and awards for his literary work.