Notes from the psychoanalysis of Knut Hamsun

During the psychoanalysis of Knut Hamsun, notes were made by his psychoanalyst, Johannes Irgens Strømme; sometimes the notes are referred to as the Strømme/Hamsun manuscript (Norwegian: Strømme/Hamsun-manuset).

Hamsun died in 1952 and copies of the notes were published in 2017; the publication is controversial (as of 2017).

The existence of the notes led to a race between a group related to [the community of persons who do] research [for a living,] and a group related to publishing.

Danish author Thorkild Hansen (en:) has said that the notes must certainly be viewed as [an] extremely important source.

Media sometimes refers to (as of May 2017,) the notes as "the classified notes".

Description

The notes consist of 474 pages.

The notes were written in one version of shorthand, called Gabelsberger.

Psychoanalysis; non-voluntary psychiatry during the Legal purge in Norway after World War II

In 1925, Hamsun had writer's block, and "he could not write a sentence". To go to consultations, at a specialist of psychoanalysis [was a voluntary decision by Hamsun]; he went to Johannes Irgens Strømme(no:Johannes Irgens Strømme no:) - who had been a student of Oskar Pfister(en:Oskar Pfister en:) - from 4 January 1926. During a two year period, Hamsun made visits to Strømme; Hamsun would lie on a divan [or a couch-like sitting furniture] while being psychoanalyzed, and Strømme would sit (on a chair) behind Hamsun.

In 1926 the writer's block eased, and the year after he published the novel Wayfarers; He thanked the psychoanalyst "for the rest of Hamsun's life", for getting back his apetite for writing.

Non-voluntary psychiatry

During the Legal purge in Norway after World War II(en:Legal purge in Norway after World War II en:) , Hamsun was examined by a court-appointed psychiatrist - without Hamsun giving permission for the examinations; [part of the diagnosis ] of Hamsun said that he had [a permanent reduction of sanity ] varig svekkede sjelsevner; to disprove and discredit the diagnosis, Hamsun wrote On Overgrown Paths(en:On Overgrown Paths en:) (published in 1949);

Storage of the notes

The notes by psychoanalyst Strømme, were [years later] "left to" a friend (of the psychoanalyst) - Ørnulf Myklestad; this friend was also the publisher of works by the psychoanalyst;

On a document dated 1958, Myklestad wrote that he would not do anything while Hamsun's widow was alive; the notes were put in safe deposit box (at a bank);

Out of the safe deposit box, the notes came in the autumn of 1978;

The daughter of psychoanalyst Strømme had the shorthand notes, transferred to her.

Interpreting and transcribing the notes

The stenographied notes were [borrowed] by [publishing house] Gyldendal(en:Gyldendal en:) for more than two months; Gyldendal returned the notes [together with a letter dated] 18 January 1979; "with the help of a stenographer employed by Norway's parliament", Gyldendal was able to interpret 30 pages of the shorthand notes, and Gyldendal transcribed those (in 1979); [in the letter, the female stenographer said that more] deciphering could be achieved - but it probably would take years and it would be expensive.

Attempts at publication (of psychoanalysis)

The interest in the notes regarding Hamsun, reached a climax [or top point] in 2001, when several groups [of people] wanted to use the notes.

A letter was sent - sometime before 2 April 2001 - from the national library, to the Ministry of Justice, regarding the library's [idea] to publicize the [notes regarding the] psychoanalysis ([that was] performed by Strømme); the notes were to be publicized together with comments from literary scientists and psychoanalysts; the project was to be led by Atle Kittang(en:Atle Kittang en:) - an expert (on research regarding Hamsun) and a professor of literature.

Media wrote about the letter; psychiatrist Sigmund Karterud(no:Sigmund Karterud no:) said (on 2 July) that psychiatrists [as a group] are shocked; However, the spokesman for the Hamsun family - Leif Hamsun (a grandchild of Knut Hamsun) - said that the project was not problematic.

Project by publishing house Gyldendal; the stopping of a project by "the national library"

At the same time, a major project was started by Gyldendal: Ingar Sletten Kolloen(en:Ingar Sletten Kolloen en:) was [expected] to write a significant biography about Hamsun; a group of people were put together by Kolloen [to help him]: members of the group included literary scientists and experts of psychoanalysis; the group included psychiatrist Sigmund Karterud(no:Sigmund Karterud no:);

The national library cancelled plans to publish the psychoanalysis notes, media said on 23 September 2001; furthermore, Kolloen was granted access to the psychoanalysis notes, because of Gyldendal's plans for him to write a biography (about Hamsun);

Publication

Notes from Hamsun's psychoanalyst, were published in 2017; the photocopied notes were from [Hamsun's appointments] with his psychoanalyst; the published notes were part of [a work of] art that was published in Vagant(no:Vagant (tidsskrift) no:) [a magazine].

The publication of the psychoanalyst's notes regarding Hamsun, is controversial (as of 2017).

In 2017 Morgenbladet(en:Morgenbladet en:) asked "Why at all, are the notes owned by the public".

Current possession by "the national library"; change of status permitting publication

The notes are deposited (as of 2017) at ["the national library" -] Nasjonalbiblioteket in Oslo, Norway; they are part of a package, [that the national library calls] manus 4°3565.

The "national library" (when it was called Universitetsbiblioteket) received the notes, as a gift from the daughter of psychoanalyst Strømme.

Status permitting publication

In 1999 the daughter of psychoanalyst Strømme, permitted publication of the notes; previously she had put a clause in place that had prevented publication of the notes;

By 2003, no one seems to have discovered [and made use of the general availability of the notes].

Other websites

• Tankene mine får du aldri – Article from NRK 4 March 2001.
• –Uetisk å utgi psykoanalysen – Article from Dagbladet 2 April 2001