Peer Stromme
Born
Peer Olson Strømme

September 15, 1856
Winchester, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedSeptember 15, 1921 (aged 65)
Academic background
Alma materLuther College
Concordia Seminary
Academic work
DisciplineEnglish
Sub-disciplineLiterature
Fiction
InstitutionsSt. Olaf College

Peer Stromme also Per Olsen Strømme (September 15, 1856 – September 15, 1921) was an American pastor, teacher, journalist, and author.[1]

Early life and education

Peer Olson Strømme was born in Winchester, Wisconsin to immigrant parents from Norway. Stromme graduated from Luther College and attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

Career

In 1879, he was ordained into the Lutheran ministry. He subsequently held a teaching post at St. Olaf College. Peer Stromme was editor of Norden, a Norwegian language paper in Chicago. Additionally he was the founding editor of the Norwegian language newspaper Dagbladet. He also translated books for the John Anderson Publishing Company in Chicago and the Lutheran Publishing House of Decorah, Iowa.[2]

Stromme was the author of several books written in the Norwegian language which explored the Norwegian immigrant experience. His articles appeared in the Norwegian-American literary magazine, Symra. Stomme was influenced in his writing style by other Norwegian American writers who had provided a truthful renditions of the lives of immigrant settlers, in particular Hans Andersen Foss. Stomme employed many major themes common to immigrant fiction, including the process of settling and assimilating into a new culture. His settings are detailed and realistic, with his books frequently depicting individuals who are at odds with society. He is best remembered for his 1896 novel Hvorledes Halvor blev prest. It was translated and published into English as Halvor: A Story of Pioneer Youth by David T. Nelson (1891–1969), Professor of English at Luther College.[3][4]

Selected works

  • Hvorledes Halvor blev prest (How Halvor became a pastor) (1894)
  • Unge Helgeson (Young Helgeson) (1906)
  • Den vonde ivold (In the Clutches of the Devil) (1910)
  • Erindringer / av Peer Strømme (Reminiscences of Peer Strømme ) (1923)

References

Additional sources

  • Scandinavian Immigrant Literature (Christer Lennart Mossberg, Boise State University Boise, Idaho, 1981)
  • The Memoirs of Peer Stromme, (Originally published as Erindringer / av Peer Strømme translated by Dr. Neil T. Eckstein. Minneapolis, Minn: Augsburg Publishing House)
  • Peer Stromme's Noraville Stories, (translated by Karl J. Schulz, Gerald Thorson, Neil T. Eckstein, Winchester Academy Ethnic Heritage Monographs. 1977)
  • Halvor: A Story of Pioneer Youth, (translation by David T. Nelson. Decorah, IA: Luther College Press 1960)
  • The Western Home: A Literary History of Norwegian-America, (Chapter 13 titled "Knut Teigen and Peer Stromme, Natives of Wisconsin". by Orm Øverland. Northfield, MN: The Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1996)
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