Dag O. Hessen is Norway’s foremost communicator of knowledge about nature and sensible environmental commitment. In this year’s book, he invites us up the mountain, on a series of trips. Often starting from the simple family cabin above Ringebu in Gudbrandsdalen. This book is a realization, a paradox in the life of the renowned biology professor, which becomes the seed of an ever-so-small literary self-reconciliation. For what was the long career as a researcher and communicator about biology, nature and the environment at the expense of? Exactly what was the starting point for my studies and career: the joy of being in nature. JOY OF NATURE: Dag O. Hessen on a ski trip in Jotunheimen. He is best known for his research in water, ecology and evolution, as well as his involvement in the intersection between biology, environment and philosophy. Photo: Privat In this way, “Jervesporet” is an attempt to find a way back to the starting point, where it all started. It involves taking the old walks all over again, and reliving the walks of youth with the eyes and physique of an aging man. But also re-reading the old books that sparked an interest in the outdoors once upon a time. The hunt for the large predator “The Wolverine Track” is also loosely structured around the hunt for the wolverine, based on an incident from Hesse’s youth, when he and his father aborted an attempt to follow a wolverine trail. The hunt must be understood here in a figurative sense. Although Hesse still has good contact with the traditional hunting and fishing culture, he has stopped going for walks with a rifle. The hunt for the wolverine is partly a quest to see it, and not least to understand it. WANT TO UNDERSTAND: The wolverine is the largest marten in Norway, and it is primarily found in the mountain areas along the border with Sweden and Finland. It has the status of highly threatened in the Norwegian Red List. Photo: news NATUR-NERDERI: Bird and egg watching is Dag O. Hessen’s favorite field. Here is a stone sparrow, a bird in the flycatcher family found all over Norway. Photo: Kjartan Trana/news In many ways, the wolverine is the forgotten predator in Norway, outcompeted by the more media-friendly wolves and bears. Then the wolverine also does its part to go under the radar, shy and mysterious as it is. Because the wolverine is not like a lone wolf, uncomfortable and unhappy where it wanders. It probably enjoys the solitude, rugged nature and physical exertion much like a typical writer of wilderness books does. From Nansen to Næss With “Jervesporet”, Hesse joins a literary tradition about lonely men who throw themselves into nature and return to civilization to tell about it. In Norway, these authors include notables such as Næss and Kagge, Zapffe and Nansen. Ingstad and Fønhus. Included in this outdoor canon is also the outdoor bible itself, “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau, although this takes place in a forest which, compared to the Norwegian mountain home, seems both densely populated and friendly. Hear Einar Duenger Bøhn and Torbjørn Ekelund about Henry Thoreau’s book in “Verdibørsen”: Hessen enters into a dialogue with these classics by reading them in his sleeping bag at night, or pondering over them while walking in the mountains. A great way to keep this tradition alive – and which makes me want to read Nansen, Næss and Ingstad again. Now, of course, it is not so difficult to be witty at the expense of these stubborn men who seek to get away from the busy throngs of the suspicious big city, to the noble, real life out in the free nature, to the outdoor life that Nansen calls a moral duty. Then immediately rush back to the city to tell everyone how wonderful and real it is in the solitude up on the mountain or out in the forest. Hesse realizes and reflects on this duality. He admits that the solitude up in the mountain home is probably magnificent, but it will be even better if he writes a book about it afterwards. And so it is. If you want to convey something to people about the connection and beauty of nature, you must have contact with both nature and people, and Dag O. Hessen has that. It seems to me that he has found a close to optimal balance, an overview in life, and in the knowledge and joy of nature that deserves to be called wisdom. On the way to nature Then we as readers get carried away with access to nature geeks, such as when biologist Hessen enters his favorite field: bird and not least egg watching. The stone splash, for example. Is it a real bird or a mythical one, much like a phoenix? According to Hessen, it exists, and then I choose to believe it. Naturally, there will also be a number of transport stages, but that would also be missing, in a book that is structured like a hike in the mountains. We eventually realize that the hunt for the wolverine is not the highest priority, and that it is a goal that may never be achieved. This punctures some of the narrative drive in the book. At the same time, it is an emphasis that on the mountain, just as in life, and in the book, it is often the road that is the goal itself. And that human plans and ambitions should more often give way to what is best for nature. Hello! My name is Ola Hegdal, and I read and review books for news. Preferably crime and suspense literature, or non-fiction. Feel free to read my review of “The Anomaly” by Hervé Le Tellier, “You are a farmer” by Kristin Auestad Danielsen or “The Night Runner” by Karin Fossum. news reviewer Photo: Cappelen Damm Title: “Jervesporet” Author: Dag O. Hessen Category: Nonfiction Pages: 224 Published: 11 August 2023 Publisher: Cappelen Damm Hear Dag O. Hessen tell about “Jervesporet”:
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“Jervesporet” by Dag O. Hessen – news Culture and entertainment
