SKEI, Hans H. 1945-

PERSONAL: Born 1945.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Institutt for nordistikk og litteraturvitenskap, Postboks 1013, Blindern, N-0315 Oslo, Norway. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, professor of comparative literature and department chair.

WRITINGS:

"Not of the South, but of the Soul": William Faulkner's"The Sound and the Fury": et forsøk på forståelse av romanen, og på å vise hvordan dikteren når en universell mening gjennom det nære og velkjente, [Oslo, Norway], 1972.

Bold and Tragical and Austere: William Faulkner's"These 13": A Study, University of Oslo (Oslo, Norway), 1977.

The Middle Ground and Beyond: William Faulkner'sSecond Collection of Short Stories, "Doctor Martino and Other Stories": Interpretations, University of Oslo (Oslo, Norway), 1978.

The Novelist As Short Story Writer: A Study of WilliamFaulkner's Short Stories with Special Emphasis on the Period 1928-1932, two volumes, University of Oslo (Oslo, Norway), 1979, published as William Faulkner. The Novelist As Short Story Writer: A Study of William Faulkner's Short Fiction, Universitetsforlagert (Oslo, Norway), 1985.

William Faulkner: The Short Story Career: An Outline of Faulkner's Short Story Writing from 1919 to 1962, Universitetsforlaget (Oslo, Norway), 1981.

(With Atle Kittang and Per Meldahl) Om litteraturhistorieskriving: perspektiv på litteraturhistoriografiens vilkår og utvikling i europeisk og norsk samanheng, Alvheim & Eide (Øvre Ervik, Norway), 1983.

Stilskriving og nynorsk språkbruk, Dag og tid (Oslo, Norway), 1985.

(With Einar Vannebo) Norsk Litterær Årbok 1990, Norske Samlaget (Oslo, Norway), 1990.

(With Kjell Heggelund) Korttekster: en antologi: fabler, brev, essay, eventyr, noveller m.m., Ad Notam (Oslo, Norway), 1990.

(With Jan H. Landro and Elisabeth Hole Skjervum) Å lese litteratur; lærebok i litterær analyse, Ad Notam Gyldendal (Oslo, Norway), 1992.

(Editor) William Faulkner, Noveller, Aschehoug (Oslo, Norway), 1993.

Vegen til bøkene: artiklar om norsk litteratur, Aschehoug (Oslo, Norway), 1993.

(With Jon Haarberg) Dikt fra antikken til vår tid: Vestens lyrikk gjennom 2700 år, Ad notam Gyldendal (Oslo, Norway), 1994.

(Editor, with Karin Gundersen) Con amore: festskrift til Arne Hannevik på 70-årsdagen 15.12.1994, Aschehoug (Oslo, Norway), 1994.

På litterære lekeplasser: studier i moderne metafiksjonsdiktning, Universitetsforlaget (Oslo, Norway), 1995.

(With Einar Vannebo) Fra Sunne til Darjeeling: Göran Tunströs Juloratoriet, Universitetsforlaget (Oslo, Norway), 1995.

(Editor) William Faulkner's Short Fiction: An International Symposium, Solum Forlag (Oslo, Norway), 1997.

(Editor) Disharmoniens dikter: Alexander L. Kielland ved 150: en artikkelsamling, Gyldendal (Oslo, Norway), 1999.

Reading Faulkner's Best Short Stories, University of South Carolina Press (Columbia, SC), 1999.

(Editor, with Jon Haarberg) Korttekster: ein antologi, Gyldendal akademisk (Oslo, Norway, 2000.

Fragmenter til et Kiellandbilde: forelesninger fra Kiellandseminaret i Det norske videnskaps-akademi 25-26. februar 1999, Det norske videnskapsakademi (Oslo, Norway), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: Hans H. Skei is a University of Oslo professor of comparative literature who has become a specialist in the writings of William Faulkner, especially his short stories. His publications about Faulkner, many of which have appeared in English, are mainly of interest to academics studying the finer points about Faulkner's work. For example, Skei's William Faulkner: The Short Story Career: An Outline of Faulkner's Short Story Writing from 1919 to 1962 is best used as a reference for those who wish to learn such facts as when a certain story was composed, how it was revised, and when and under what circumstances it was published. As a Choice contributor noted, this "is not a critical study" and "even a Faulkner specialist will not read this book for pleasure." Stephen M. Ross, in an article for Modern Fiction Studies, similarly noted, "This is a book of interest primarily to scholars working out details of Faulkner's career. Skei tells us virtually nothing about the stories as literature, and his own presentation is laborious at best." However, an American Literature contributor asserted that Skei's study "deserves to be . . . closely studied."

More recent Faulkner studies by Skei include such works as William Faulkner's Short Fiction: An International Symposium and Reading Faulkner's Best Short Stories. In the former, the scholar picks twelve of the author's stories for in-depth discussion. Although Mississippi Quarterly contributor Roy R. Behrens had issues with what he considered poor copyediting and proofreading of the text, the critic complimented Skei's book for being "rich in insights." Behrens further noted, "Skei's careful unfurling of stories from 'Barn Burning' to 'Wash' is admirable, and while his sane and sober readings might not break much new ground . . . it is hard not to be charmed by the voice of good common sense that he adopts throughout." Reading Faulkner's Best Short Stories offers similar analyses of Faulkner's short works in "an effective examination of strong stories," according to T. Bonner, Jr. in Choice.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Literature, October, 1982, review of WilliamFaulkner: The Short Story Career: An Outline of Faulkner's Short Story Writing from 1919 to 1962, p. 475.

Choice, September, 1982, review of William Faulkner:The Short Story Career, p. 89; November, 1999, T. Bonner, Jr., review of Reading Faulkner's Best Short Stories, p. 542.

Mississippi Quarterly, summer, 1999, Roy R. Behrens, review of William Faulkner's Short Fiction: An International Symposium, p. 511.

Modern Fiction Studies, winter, 1983, Stephen M. Ross, review of William Faulkner: The Short Story Career, pp. 728-730.*