During his period at Skogheim (1911-1917), Knut Hamsun set up his own writing lodge to get the piece he needed for his work. This is where parts of Growth of the Soil were to be written - the novel for which he was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The writing lodge stands there to this day.
We find many references to this building in letters, articles, newspapers and books related to Hamsun's life and authorship. Hamsun himself most often used the term "Kiosk" about the building, but we also find that he uses other terms such as a cabin, a studio, a den, a living room, a small house and “the cormorant kiosk”. Below we present a selection of sources and texts.
Spring 1916 the work began on the construction of the writing lodge. In a letter to L. A. Meyer in Mo i Rana on April 8, 1916, Hamsun asks for a quote on such a delivery. He outlines a lodge that will consist of 2 rooms, a main room 6 times 4 meters long with an indoor ceiling height of 2.3 meters. The continuation of the building should be a total of 8 times 4 meters. Construction was planned to start 13th of May. However, the delivery ended up coming from Narvik. In June 2016, Hamsun tells about the construction of his "kiosk" to his friend Erik Frydenlund:
"At home on the farm they are now building a small house for me, a kiosk, in which I will be summer and winter, night and day, and be away from the children’s crying (which I just can’t handle). It is then the intention that I should try to write there, so that I do not have to travel that far to get piece for my writing. However, the two eldest will probably find me in the kiosk as well, and I must honestly say that it is fun when they come too, because children have wonderful errands. Now when I left, he wanted a raincoat and a saber when I return. "
Marie Hamsun also talks about the construction. This is what they both wanted. Now Hamsun could finally be in the immediate area while writing his books.
"He also started the construction of a workroom in some distance from the houses. It was a "kiosk" with a single large square room. It was completed in the summer of 1916. In the meantime he took a trip to Kråkmo again. As soon as the kiosk was finished, he moved in and had part of Growth of the Soil written here ».
From the novel "The Rainbow" by Marie Hamsun
The same autumn, 1916, the painter Ola Abrahamsson visits Skogheim. Now the poet's living room is both set up and well used.
"I didn’t see Hamsun that much. He had, as I understood at the time, a good writing period. He had built a pavilion in the field where he walled himself in all day long. It was only at meals that I saw him. After dinner we often sat for an hour and chatted together. He was a regular man in his speech - an ordinary man who spoke wisely and sensibly about whatever the conversation was about. "
Quote from The Nation, Saturday, November 18th. The article «Knut Hamsun on Hamarøy».
