Art-CV, see last part.
Born in 1944, a peace-child
that became a warrior in politics, art and sport
CV about life
As a 9-year-old child my life took an unusual path. Speed skating seemed to be pre-coded into my body and brain. I quickly became a child star in speed skating sport, a kind of celebrity. I won all of the competitions in the child and junior skating classes until I was seventeen years old. As an elite skater, I became Junior champion in 1961. But after my senior skating career begun in 1962, life got more complicated. In 1962, I won the new year competition on Bislet Stadion. So, in front of me my future looked bright then. I even had to engage a secretary to answer all my fan letters.
But in the following years I did not really became a part of the so-called skating revolution. I tried to grasp too many things in life. I begun the medical study in Holland (Utrecht). At the same time, I also continued my skating, training hard. This became too much, so after one year I dropped out in Holland and started as a chemist student at NTH in Trondheim. My father was furious. At that time, most people thought that my skating career was over, for sure. But they were wrong.
I started studying in Trondheim 1964, 20 years old. In addition, I engaged myself profoundly in student politics, in art and even in love which ended in marriage in 1967. Still I kept up with training and skating, being better and better. I returned with force and qualified to the Sapporo Olympic Games team in 1972. In Sapporo I managed 13. place at the 500m speed skating race. Which was not too bad. It inspired me to a new start of my skating career, training even harder. The following year became my big comeback and my highest peak in life. I was Norwegian champion in sprint speed skating and sat world records on 500m (38.0) and 1000m (1.17.6) in Davos in January 1973.
In the same period, I was politically radicalized. Consequently, in my head the athlete and the radical where fighting for the hegemony. The result of this was my sport novel “Tryllingen” (Gyldendal 1973) criticizing commercialisation and egocentricity. I still remember sitting writing on the manuscript the evening between the races in Davos, a contradiction in itself.
The public reactions to the book were strong and divided. Many skating colleagues was so angry, they would not skate with me in the same competition. Newspaper headlines grew fat. Remember, skating at that time was as big sport, as football is today. But in perspective: I was right in the criticism of commercialization in sport. We also had a follow-up, organizing studying groups called “Idrett for alle” (translated: Sport for everybody) and we published a study booklet “Sport for everybody – A Critical Comment on Norwegian Sports Policy”, Gyldendal 1974. Dan Børge Akerø and Egil Drillo Olsen were part of this, both radical at that time.
My celebrity status contributed, so I was elected chairman of the Norwegian Student Union (NSU) at the end of my NTH study. I graduated as a chemistry civil engineer in 1968. I was a sort of compromising candidate in the NSU election. Juggling between the different left fractions in student politics at that time, especially the hardliner Marxist-Leninists, the soft SF-socialists and the even softer social democrats.
It is safe to say that I became a real “68’s” in student politics. Our main goals were the struggle for student influence, public direct people-power and real local democracy. As leader of NSU I became the first student representative in the (interims) board of the University of Tromsø, where Petter F. Hjort was the leader. Together we created a new integrated medical faculty. In retrospective, I admit that I have never before or after had so much power. I changed the lives of many people. Especially when I walked around on the campus of the universities all over Norway and recruited student representatives to committees for the University of Tromsø. Many of them ended up moving to Tromsø for good. For almost 4 years I travelled from Oslo to Tromsø every week for meetings.
Me in the military:
After finishing NTH, I entered the military as a common soldier. I was then in opposition to the Marxist-Leninist line of refusing military service. Their leader Sigurd Allern called me “on the carpet”, commanding me to do military denial. But I was not part of his organisation (SUF) nor his strategy. In the military, I created together with some other soldiers, an anti-NATO “Soldier report of Sessvollmoen military campus”. The report was confiscated by the local military, and I was put in military jail. When the newspapers heard about this, I got the hole front page! It was like putting fire to a dry withered field. The flames of debate went hot and high.
The PAX publisher became interested, and in 1970 we released “The little Red Book for Soldier”. The military would forbid the book. But in court the well-known lawyer Alf Nordhus defended me and Tor Bjerkmann, who was the deputy in PAX. He did that with great skill. We won. This carried even more fuel to the fire of debate, but opening the military to allow internal political discussions in peacetime. Even the Marxist-Leninists changed their tactics after this.
At the same time, I struggled with further education and job. No wonder that the laps on the ice rink went slower for a while
The family and me:
I’m a double single child. My mother Dagny Mjaaland divorced from my father Leif Efskind and married his best friend and colleague Reidar Eker. That happened when I was about eleven years old. So, I got two fathers. They were both profiled doctors – one professor and heart surgeon, the other director of the biggest cancer hospital in Norway, The Radium Hospital (DNR). This triangle of love and hate did not pass without social noise. My two fathers became bitter enemies – and I became part of the war. Leif used every means to get me away from skating, “this bullshit going around and around a lane” he said. While Reidar and my mother on the other hand, used all their energy to help me being a skater. And skating was all my life at that time. It defined me both in my own mind and in the public.
Let me tell two illustrating episodes. My father should participate at a surgical congress in Bergen. By mistake they had forgot to book a room for him at the congress-hotel. The receptionist said “sorry, but no rooms left”, but then he looked more closely at the name and asked “Efskind, isn’t that a famous skater?”. “Well, my son”. Then he got a spear room without further discussion. But my father nearly refused to accept it. Another episode: I broke my ankle when I was 13. My father claiming that I had to stop skating for good. But when the ankle healed completely, he took me to an internal specialist, professor Storstein and ordered an EKG (heart electric cardiogram), which was not a standard examination at that time. I remember my father taking me to a big dark office with my EKG result hanging as curved lines on a big board. Professor Storstein then looked at it twice and closely, and suddenly he banged his hands hard in a table shouting, “I cannot say anything else, it’s completely normal!” My father’s tactics had failed once more.
Despite the conflicts, I have no reason to complain. For sure, I had an extremely challenging and rich childhood and youth. It made me strong.
I married Anne Ringnes in 1967 and we got two beautiful children, Erlend (f.68) and Kaja Karina (f.77). In addition, I now have three grandchildren: Herman, Lavrans and Nora, all of them shining. After some years Anne and I followed different paths and got divorced. Then as years passed, I had two cohabitants before marrying Kaja Kierulf in 2010. I now presume to have happily landed in my love-life’s long flight. Kaja has 3 adult children from earlier marriage.
Education and Jobs:
I have a separate CV for work and education, so here I present just a short summary.
My education has followed two main courses: first, civil engineer from NTH, completed in 1968, then the medical study in Oslo completed in 1979.
As previously described, the civil engineer study in Trondheim was an exciting time for me, and with a lot of activities besides the study. I was politically awakened and a humanist. One example: To twist the study to be more humanistic and political, I invited philosophers to lecture for the students, and especially professor Jon Medbø. It is a famous telling about him that I have to include. After one lecture, he stayed overnight in the basement of The Nidaros dome. He took with him in the basement some female students and much beer. During the night, they got in spiritual contact with the “famous” dead monk in the cellar. The newspapers loved the story!
I was co-author in the student cabaret “Jarragakk”, UKA67. This was my first qualified writing experience. After this I got married and became a father, still studying and training for professional skating.
After finishing in Trondheim, I worked at The Radium Hospital (DNR) for a few years as a researcher in chemistry and quantum mechanics. I was trying to use approximate solutions of the Schrödinger equation for studying biological reactions to radiation. But this was far too theoretical for me. I wanted to work with people more directly. Then I was lucky having additional points, and was admitted to the medical study in Oslo.
I finished the medical study with licence in 1979. Then, through many jobs and after some years I became a general surgeon, and at last an orthopaedic specialist. This was a very long professional road with many stumbling blocks, for everybody, and especially for me.
For some years I worked at Stensby Hospital at Minnesund as a surgeon and “sjefslege” (chief doctor). I found an interest organisation for retaining the small local hospitals (KIL).
I worked as a surgeon all over Norway and Sweden, you may call me a ”travelling man”. This was necessary, because a surgery job in the Oslo area was and still is hard to get, especially for me with a controversial reputation. The travelling was a challenge both for me and my family. Places that I worked were hospitals in Moss, Kongsvinger, SIA (now Ahus), Kir.A Rikshospitalet, Martina Hansen, Karlstad, Kristinehamn and Sandnessjøen, even in Brønnøysund as emergency helicopter doctor. And my year as a guerrilla doctor in El Salvador 1987-88, see below.
Around the turn of the century I was employed as a senior physician in orthopaedics at Aker University Hospital in Oslo. Most of my work there included injury and fracture orthopaedic, also a lot of knees and hip prostheses, and knee/ shoulder arthroscopy.
Eventually, because of the so called “Oslo process” I was moved from Aker to Ullevål Hospital. But I never enjoyed it, and worked for a short period at Lovisenberg Hospital and at Lærdal Hospital (35% position) where they are experts in knee and hip prostheses. The senior surgeon in Lærdal, Truls Jellestad, he is the guru for excellent skill, making Lærdal today the best place for knee replacement operations in Norway.
In addition, I have worked 4 summers (2013 – 17) as orthopaedic surgeon in Malawi (KCH in Lilongwe), see “Africa” below.
2014-2016 I had a position as supervisor doctor at a nursing institution (St. Halvards-hjemmet, Kirkens Bymisjon). Finally, now I am working as a doctor at Origosenteret, a rehabilitation institution in Østfold.
At the same time, in 2015 I signed in as a full-time student at DTK Art School, see section for Art-CV below.
Researcher in orthopaedics:
I am still doing some medical research – as inventor of a new type of polymer material that can replace metal plates and screws used in fracture operations, a new so-called osteosynthesis material. The new material can be induction heated in citu in the body becoming soft and mouldable. This is a big advantage both for re-modulating and removing the material after fracture healing. Through the Indosynt company, we have received EU funds for research and development. But still today, we need new research founding to move forward, leaving the project for the moment at a dead end.
Doctor for the guerrilla:
I have also used my surgical knowledge for a totally different challenge. For one year 1987 to 1988 I worked as a surgeon in the guerrilla of the Farabondo Marty Liberation Movement in El Salvador, FMLN. This is the most spectacular period in my professional life. I was illegal in the country, and I carried a weapon. We were bombed or shot at daily. But I survived. Many compas (that is guerrilla soldiers) I learned to know and respect, were killed in battle while I was there. The time in El Salvador inspired me to a poetic book “De siste timene før lys” (The last hours before light) (Aventura Publishing 1991). The book is written in a similar style as “The Prophet” by Gibran.
I have also been working as a doctor for PLO in Lebanon for two shorter periods. Risky that too. There I was shot at while jogging on the beach between the Rachedie refugee camp and the town Tyr. They shot at me with machine guns on the open beach. I did not panic but froze standing completely still. That saved my life. Happily, it was solders from the Lebanese army. They caught me, thinking I was an Israeli agent coming in from the sea. But when they after some hours realized that I was a dumb doctor working for the PLO, they offered me a cigarette and a smile, and drove me back to the refugee camp, just before dawn. Conclusion: one should not exercise in war zones.
Africa:
Four summers (2013, 14, 15 and 17) I have worked as an orthopaedic surgeon in Malawi in Africa, every time for about 2-3 months. I work at a public hospital (Kamusu Central Hospital, KCH) in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. It is part of a Norwegian surgical project via Haukeland Hospital in Bergen, supported by NORAD. The Child orthopaedic Sven Young is the leader of the project, and he lives mostly in Malawi. This work has been much rewarding to me, both professionally and culturally, and also as an artist. Many poems and paintings have become the products, see paintings in my web.
Politics and philosophy of life:
I have mostly been SVer (former SF), never either SUF or Marxist-Leninist! I always rejected the extreme, but at the same time I have used provocation as a method. And I have social equality as the main ideal. This is a difficult balance.
My most important political position has been as chairman of the student organisation NSU and representative in the board of the University in Tromsø, see above. But I have also had some minor political positions. I was representative for SV in the Oslo City Council. I have been in the board of SVs Ungdom and Oslo SV, and are still chairman of Bleiker treatment institution for autists, which has become a foundation. In the seventies after the study at NTH we lived at Stovner in Oslo. I became leader of the first Bydelsutvalg there (as a local community board). We did many crazy things, both politically and culturally, in the positive meaning of crazy. It was many projects together with cultural personalities as Jon Skolmen, Willy Hoel, Vibeke Løkkeberg and Trulte Heide Steen.
As pointed out earlier, SV has disappointed me, being more green than red, and I have converted to AP, still not becoming more conservative, I hope. But everything and everyone are changing, that is unavoidable.
My positions in AP is very limited, being deputy elected in Asker community assembly. And I am in the board of “International Forum” in Oslo-AP lead by Marit Nybakk. They organize many interesting foreign policy meetings.
Am I moving away from socialism? Hopefully not. I will describe my political ideology as a mixture of socialism and neo-anarchism, hating bureaucracy and strict managements. I do not like road jumpers in any meaning of the word. Learn the rules of society, then brake some, but follow your ideas. And if you have to take risks, make them calculated. That’s creative thinking.
So, to be honest I do not feel comfortable with any of the Norwegian parties. Hench, I will include below some of my slogans, trying to combine humanity with socialism and populism. Hopefully it will give some reflection or inspiration to the reader:
Support greater individual freedom within the limits of humanity. We are all different, so stimulate potentials, but retain equality in society. Say no to an authoritative state. The public control of individuals must be reduced, and surveillance limited to a minimum. Reduce and simplify bureaucracy; simplify regulations and laws. Punishment must be rehabilitation, not revenge. Stronger regulations for the use of drugs and narcotics, not less. Keep drugs and dope out of sport. Norway should support a new global order where everyone is taken care of. The oceans recourses must be under UN control. It can be the economic base for a new world government. Battle against marine pollution. Say no to states built on religious or genetic principles, our new apartheid. Increase control of international capitalism and multinational cooperation. Transaction Tax to UN Fund. Norway must not participate militarily in any other country. Military budget down to 1% of GDP. To have children is not a human right. We are too many, that is the world’s biggest ecological problem. Global population control through social cultural instruments. Child allowance in Norway only for 2 children in the same family. Reproduction and sex must stay together. Children must not be medicine in conflicts. Support a strict but fair immigration policy. Internet for everybody. Say yes to free download and use of all published art older than two years. Say yes to a strong and adversity-free NRK. Fight against all religious dogmatism. Prohibit personal income of more than 4 times main national income. Say no to increased taxes and fees. Promote a green shift by new technology and a harmonized lifestyle. But allow a controlled oil and gas production. Use more short-travelled and oceanic food. Respectful treatment of all animals. At last, you are not improving your health by lying in the sun. Promote meaningful leisure time and item-tourism must be stimulated.
The same rules and thinking are valid for my art and philosophy, see later.
You have to stay in the moment, but looking forward, inside and back. You have to grasp the truth, but colour it with your life and soul.
I am an engaged humanist and atheist, being member of both “Humanetisk Forbund” and the more spectacular “Hedning samfundet”. If one briefly should define my philosophy of life, it would be – scientifically minded, an atheist, but with a heart and mind for beauty and feelings, and an artist’s sense for the unpredictable and unspoken.
I have developed my own soft-rationalism philosophy, calling it “Fruktbarhets filosofi” (Fertility philosophy). What it is? Hopefully, to explain will be my next book. But you may read more about my way of thinking in the Peru book, or in the series “My Christmas Calendar”. Both can be downloaded free of charge from www.efskind.com or the book can be sent you from me.
Bicycle projects:
These biking projects have been an important part of my physical-cultural life after skating.
It all started just after I had finished my elite skating career, being 30 years old. I was then thinking: what next for a fit body and restless mind? Veteran sport seemed far to doll. My best friend Asle and I jogged around Gaustad (then a psychiatric institution) and we let our imagination run freely. What would be the most extreme project? We concluded: “Around the world in 80 days by bike”. First, we planned almost non-stop biking, but soon the plan became more realistic and with a following car, but still spectacular. We recruited some biking friends, 7 bikers all together, starting late summer 1985. We biked more that 300 km without stop many of the days. We also included into the project a medical examination of stress hormones with urine samples along the way.
I will mention but one episode on the around the world journey. Our track in USA was the “route-66” road from LA to NY. In Little Rock, nearly finished, we had an accident that 2 of our bikers was badly hit by a car. One got a hip fracture, the other a skull fracture. They had to be hospitalized, and we all had to stand by till the whole situation was settled. We were very friendly greeted by the hospital staff. After two days, we could bike on, while those two stayed behind for treatment. The local newspaper had an article about us, and just before biking I got an invitation to visit the local governor. I said thank you but no, sorry we have no time for diplomacy. Later on, I learned that the governors name was Bill Clinton. So, I am both proud and sad having refused to meet an American president. The two injured bikers recovered without lasting deficits.
A few years later we published a book describing this project: “Jorda trill rundt” (The University Publishing 1987, can be downloaded from www.efskind.com ).
Inspired by the around the world project, Asle and I wanted to set a new record nonstop biking. In 1986, we biked non-stop Oslo to Mosjøen, 1000 kilometres. The hardest part was to stay awake. Up to this date I don`t know if anyone has beaten this record.
I will mention that in 1984 together with the biking club HERO, I biked Nordkapp – Lindesnes in 8 days, a good uptake to the around the world project. This biking included the Trondheim-Oslo biking marathon race as one of the days. Besides, I have been biking the Trondheim-Oslo race 3 times more, two of them doing sixteen and a half hours.
After all this, as an inspiring start, we were hungry for new biking adventures.
To mention it all briefly, we organized 2 China projects: “Mao’s Long March” (1998), and in 2000: “China to Tibet on Heaven’s Roof” to Lhasa. We biked on the Himalayan plateau between 4500 and 5200 meters heights for one hole week. But this biking was not my first time to China. In 1971, I was part of a radical group visiting China for 2 weeks. It was fascinating. So, I have seen the huge changes from a red flag revolution to their try to combine socialism and capitalism, even integrated the proud inheritance from Song-dynasty and Confucian culture. Standing on the Tien-An-Men I feel being in the centre of humanity.
Peru with the Andes mountains was next for biking in 2003, visiting the Amazon delta and the Inca tribes there. From the city of Nazca (with the famous desert figures) and high up to Andes we biked from 0 to 3600 meters altitude in one day – which is still my personal record for one day climb. This trip has also been put to rest in a book; can be downloaded from my web.
In 2007, we “biked the Vietnam War” all the way from Hanoi north to Saigon in the south. Vietnam with 80 million inhabitants has handled both the war memories and socialism in an impressive pragmatic way. I stayed behind after the cycling, visiting for one week an orthopaedic hospital in Hanoi. Regarding health care and orthopaedics in Vietnam, see my article in the web or in the “Journal of the Norwegian Medical Society”.
Later bicycle projects include Iran in 2009, “biking for peace and cultural understanding”. It was at the same time as the controversial election in Iran. Surprisingly, we were received as an official Norwegian delegation, with strict control but also with heart and interest. Iran is a great cultural nation with a proud and nice people. Their medical services and education are advanced. So sorry that the religion has too much grip on their minds and politics, as I see it.
Next was Bolivia 2011, biking in Che Guevara’s track, then Caucasus 2013, following Odin’s track.
Mostly we have had a new biking project every second year, for the time being ended with 2016: Bhutan in the Himalayas “biking for beauty in the land of gross national happiness”. The Buddhist mentality and mindfulness in Bhutan has something important to give us.
All projects have turned out to be fascinating, and opening our minds to nature and culture. The projects also have a red thread and a semi-professional organisation with following cars and good planning, good preparation and training. It is not for everybody. Next trip? We are working on different alternatives.
In addition, in 10 to 15 years’ time I have a dream of doing: biking around the world in two times 80 days, stopping many places along the way to paint and immerse myself in the local culture, and see differences from the first time. If my health permits.
***
CV-art:
I have always had artistic ambitions, and placed them in one of the centres of my life, both writing and painting. But art has never been chosen as a profession, before maybe now, when my medical professional life is slowing down.
Painting and drawing:
My Christian primary school class teacher Hyllemo gave me very bad marks in religion. That was because I never learned the text in “Fadervår/ The Lord’s Prayer” despite that the hole class had to mumble it every morning. But I could quote most verses of the poem Terje Viken. Maybe to put his own conscience to rest, he gave me the best mark possible in drawing, despite that my drawings at that time was more than humble. He also hinted to my parents that I should be an artist. Both of them took that remark as a sort of insult.
For many years I was fully occupied with skating, politics, education and all demands from heart and hormones. Art was dwelling. But I’ve always painted and made drawings, with passion and joy. So, I may be the outline for a classical autodidact.
In later years, I have organized several sales exhibitions with paintings, drawings and “rekved”. My exhibition at Eidsvoll (Gallery Unique, now closed) was concentrated on “rekved”, that is painting on old wood plates, which sold well. An exhibition in Gallery Tonne in Oslo was good. I even have had an exhibition in Bodø and in the city hall in Brønnøysund. For later exhibitions and DTK, see below.
As mentioned, I have been working at a hospital in Malawi, Africa. I used the free time there well for drawing and painting. In particular I have made a series of drawings from my own photos of injuries and accidents received at the hospital. This may be a provocation to see for those soft hearted, but it describes the reality in a direct thou artistic way. The reactions to the paintings were very divided, to put it carefully. But I have also made many other paintings in “African stile” describing their culture. My articles of African spiritual believe is included in the web.
For several years, and still, I have been a part of The artists at Fornebu (Gamle Fornebu Art Center: gfk@fornebukultur.no ). It is situated just outside Oslo ringside the old airport tower. But the last 3 years I decided to educate myself and become a more professional painter. That is why I joined in at DTK (Det tverrfaglige Kunstakademi – translated: The Interdisciplinary Art Academy) where Julio da Silva is the primary engine. I have also attended all the exhibitions that the academy organizes, including a 2017 graduate exhibition in the Oslo City Hall Gallery. In addition, just prior to this, in January 2017, I was part of an art exhibition in the same City Hall, together with the painters Rolf Groven and Tilla Dalstrøm.
My work as doctor at the nursing home “St. Halvardshjemmet” also initiated an art project. I engaged the elderly there in a glass mosaic installation 2 x 2 meters big, being helped by the firm Bypro melting the glass pieces together. Se paintings in my web.
I am also in a process with Asker Community to decorate outdoor walking tunnels by paintings illustrating the history of the community.
If painting reflects life, it is important for me that I also paint and draw skating. The movements and rhythm of skating penetrates my body and mind; and this I try to reflect in art, both in paintings, drawings and writing. To be honest, the combination of elite skater and artist is very special and a good potential for interesting creations.
As you will understand, art for me is a tool and not a goal in itself. I look to the future with all colours available. Paintings and drawings can be seen on my web www.efskind.com .
Me as author:
My career as an author has sadly followed a declining selling path, mostly because the first books were combined and associated with me as a famous skater, or as a radical and public person. But the last books, I will insist, are of better and more profound quality. That’s life.
My first try as an author was in 1967 as member of the author group preparing the student cabaret at NTH in Trondheim: Jarragakk, UKA67. It was fun!
My first book was published during my military service. I quote from my description previous: In the military, I created together with some other soldiers, an anti-NATO “Soldier report of Sessvollmoen”. The report was confiscated by the local military, and I was put in military jail. When the newspapers heard about this, I got the hole front page! It was like putting fire to a dry withered field. The flames of debate went hot and high. The PAX publisher became interested, and in 1970 we released “The little Red Book for Soldier”. The military would forbid the book. In court the well-known lawyer Alf Nordhus defended me and Tor Bjerkmann, who was the deputy in PAX. He did that with great skill. We won. This carried even more fuel to the fire of debate, opening the military to allow internal political discussions in peacetime. Even the Marxist-Leninists changed their tactics after this.
My next book, my first novel, had to do with the split in my mind between elite skating and radical equality ideals. In cooperation with Gyldendal I wrote the novel “Trylleringen” (1973). It describes a skater starting with success and all privileges, following him down the line through defeats to be an ordinary person. The book contained also a hard criticism of the commercialisation in sport. A novel all right, but it was so close to reality that some of my skating friends with different political views refused to skate wherever I participated.
Newspaper headlines grew fat. Remember, skating at that time was as big sport as football is today. But in perspective: I was right in the criticism of commercialization in sport. At the same time as “Trylleringen”, the professional commercial skating organisation ISSL was established. It included the skaters Ard Schenk, Svein-Erik Stiansen and many other famous skaters from the seventies. But ISSL lasted for just a couple of years.
In addition, I was part of a follow-up book after “Trylleringen”, organizing studying groups called “Idrett for alle” (translated: Sport for everybody). We made a study booklet “Sport for everybody – A Critical Comment on Norwegian Sports Policy”, Gyldendal 1974. Dan Børge Akerø and Egil Drillo Olsen was part of this, both radicals at that time.
Conflicts, but I managed, and was 30 years old then. It was the end of my elite skating career anyway. In many ways, this book was a planned exit from skating. Next was biking.
I have written 2 books with inspiration from my biking projects. The first one is “Jorda trill rundt” (University Publishing 1987). It described our project “Around the world in 80 days on bike” in 1985. The book tries to tell you much more than just biking, about philosophy of life and competition. You will understand if you take the time to read it.
My next book was inspired from an important part of my life: my work in 1987-88 as a doctor for the FMLN guerrilla in El Salvador. This is the most spectacular period in my professional life. I was illegal in the country, and carried a weapon and we were bombed or shot at daily. But I survived. The time in El Salvador inspired me to a poetic book “De siste timene før lys” (The last hours before dawn) (Aventura Publishing 1991). The book is written in a similar style as “the Prophet” by Gibran. My good friend Nils Aas draw the illustrations in this book. Sadly, he died too early and unnecessary.
After some years resting from writing, I published a futuristic novel “Under en sort sol”, or in English: “Beyond the black sun” (Orion Forlag 1998). This book discusses future perspectives for technology and medicine. What will happen to humans if you are able to directly connect carbon and silicon structures to a new form of living? That is to integrate a computer within your brain. The book is also as designed for a dramatic movie. But it’s more than difficult to catch someone with resources to initiate a film project. Nevertheless, a team in “Uniframe” are working on a film manuscript of the book. They even may be convert it into TV series, with working title “The next step”. I wait to see if there will be a next step.
In 2003, we biked Peru in the Andes mountains, visiting the Amazon delta and the Inca tribes there. The year after we published the book “Mitt Peru, reisens filosofi og fruktbarhetens kode”. Or translated: My Peru: The Philosophy of Travelling – The code for fruitful reflection (Fag-trykk Alta 2004). The book was written together with my friend and colleague Asle T. Johansen, who also participated in the bicycle projects. We have written independent different pieces in the books. Again, for my part, I hope that the reader perceives the message of the book as something beyond the description of a biking project.
In 2013, I released my last novel “Men barna dine får du aldri” or in English: “But you will never get your kids back”. (Kolofon Forlag 2013). It is based on a true event where a man sickened by MS killed himself and both his small children. The mother’s crisis reaction is the basic theme of the book. Unlike the real event which ended sad for mother, I bring forward in the book the African culture with strength to cope with crises and get through it in a fruitful way.
Life and art does not end with this, hopefully –
– but my resume and art-CV ends here.
Contact me
lasseefskind@icloud.com
+4791388295
Lasse – revised October 2017
