[1][2] Narvesen made his literary debut in 1975, with the poetry collection Steppene,[1] where he asks questions such as "What age am I from / where am I going / which star is my next beginning?
"[3] Further collections are Ararat (1976),[1] Til Vannmannens terskel (1977), and Smil, Sinbad!
[3] His collections from the 1980s include Gjenkomst i mai (1982), Ved bredden (1985), and Favntak (1990).
[1] His collection Blomsterelskeren og andre gjendiktninger fra amerikansk og engelsk poesi from 1981 is a collection of translated American and English poetry.
He issued a translation of poetry by Walt Whitman into Norwegian language in 1984 (titled Tilegnet den usynlige verden), in collaboration with Håvard Rem.