Martha Ostenso
Martha Ostenso was a prominent Canadian-American author known for her impactful literary contributions in the early to mid-20th century. Born in Norway and immigrating to the United States as an infant, she spent her formative years in Minnesota and South Dakota before settling in Manitoba, Canada. There, she pursued her education and began her writing career, significantly influenced by her relationship with her English professor, Douglas Durkin. Although their marriage was delayed for years due to personal circumstances, Durkin played a crucial role in nurturing Ostenso's talent.
Ostenso first gained major recognition for her novel "Wild Geese," which won the Dodd, Mead and Co. Best Novel of the Year Award in 1925. This success marked the beginning of a prolific writing career, during which she published numerous novels and poetry collections. Her works often reflected the cultural and social landscapes of her time, earning her a place among notable authors of her era. Ostenso's life was characterized by her travels between Hollywood and Minnesota, where she mingled with influential figures in the literary and entertainment fields. Her enduring legacy continues to be acknowledged in literary circles today.
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Martha Ostenso
Author
- Born: September 17, 1900
- Birthplace: Haukeland, Norway
- Died: November 24, 1963
- Place of death: Seattle, Washington
Biography
Martha Ostenso, daughter of Sigurd Brigt and Lena (Tungeland) Ostenso, lived only two years in her native Norway before her family immigrated to the United States. The family moved around Minnesota and South Dakota towns until 1915, when they left the United States for Manitoba, Canada, living first in Brandon, where Martha Ostenso attended Brandon Collegiate, and then moving in 1917 to Winnipeg. In Winnipeg, the family operated a farm, and Martha enrolled at the Kelvin Technical High School, then teaching in a rural school before beginning her college studies at University of Manitoba in 1918.
It was at the University of Manitoba that Ostenso met Douglas Durkin, her English professor and a novelist. The two quickly fell in love and began a lifelong relationship, although they were not able to marry until 1944, since Durkin’s first wife refused to divorce. When Durkin took a job with Columbia University in 1921, Ostenso moved with him and took up her studies of fiction writing there from 1921 to 1922, also holding employment as a social worker with Brooklyn’s Bureau of Charities from 1920 to 1923.
Durkin encouraged and nurtured Ostenso’s writing talents, and when Ostenso returned to Winnipeg in 1923, she began writing her famed Wild Geese, the winner of the Dodd, Mead and Co. Best Novel of the Year Award in 1925 and the basis for a later movie version. The award brought her $13,500; and the book brought her much attention. During this time, Ostenso also published her first volume of verse: A Far Land: Poems by Martha Ostenso.
Beginning in 1924, Ostenso and Durkin for the next twenty years split their time between Hollywood and Minnesota, and they lived well, keeping prominent actors and writers as their friends. More than a dozen novels by Ostenso followed, including O River, Remember! which was named a Literary Guild choice in 1943.