Olsen, Geir Arne
Entry updated 3 November 2023. Tagged: Author.
(1957-1990) Norwegian underground author, artist and political philosopher, better known under his pen-names Leonard Borgzinner and Leon Latex; his varied works include short stories of a high literary quality, essays on Samuel R Delany and Harlan Ellison, articles on technology versus ecology, punk rock from The Velvet Underground to The Clash, et cetera. Acclaimed editor since his early teens, Fanzines include Tralfa – its name taken from Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan (1959) – The Borgzinner Medicine Show, Outlaw, 666 and the one-shots Madrigal Stellaris, Scheintod and The Punishment of the Prodigal Wife of Emma Dekoztkozt. Excited by the works of Robert A Heinlein, he advocated the New Wave and Speculative Fiction. Although he never attended sf Conventions or sf club meetings, he pointed out the connections between the counter-culture of the 1970s and sf Fandom.
His first published short story was "Fru Martinsens husdyr" ["Mrs. Martinsen's Pets"] (1973 Nova #3); during the 1970s and early 1980s he contributed significant stories, articles, Comics, illustrations and poems to Norwegian fanzines and Magazines such as Aardvark, Algernon, Bizarr science fiction/Bizarr Mortem, Capricorn, Driftglass, Fabula, Gateavisa, Gnore/Villkatt, Madore, Nova, and Tusmørkeøyene ["The Twilight Islands"]; also the Swedish magazines Jules Verne-Magasinet and Summa.
He published only two books: the short story collection Universets Varmedød og andre selvmord ["The Heat Wave of the Universe And Other Suicides"] (coll 1981), and a collection of essays on political philosophy: Anarki og Adel ["Anarchy and Nobility"] (coll 1988). Considered an important book of the period, the former contained eight stories of Horror and sf: "Refleksen av kjærlighet" ["The Reflex of Love"] was rather grim; "Av det som har gått bort" ["Of What Has Passed Away"] discussed the psychologic aspects of cloning (see Clones); and "Nattmat" ["Night Meal"] was dark symbolism. "Glassmaskene" ["The Masques of Glass"] was reminiscent of J G Ballard; the title story "Universets varmedød" and "Hasardfaktoren" ["The Hazard Factor"] provided a mixture of scientific speculation and political philosophy, and the last "Solrammer" was Hard SF, probably one of the ten best Norwegian sf stories ever written.
During the 1980s Olsen wrote less for fanzines, becoming more involved in such subjects such anarchism, Nietzche and de Sade. Near the end of his all too short life he lived in a small cottage outside Oslo and wrote non-stop. He left behind 24 published short stories, two unpublished sf novels – «Rødforskyving» ["Red Displacement"] and «Mara i den trojanske hesten» ["Mara in the Trojan Horse"] and many essays and articles. Four editors are working to collect and publish the texts and artwork which he left behind. [CPe]
Geir Arne Olsen
born Vallset, Norway: 14 February 1957
died Ski, Norway: 12 July 1990
works (selected)
collections
- Universets varmedød og andre selvmord ["The Heat Wave of the Universe And Other Suicides"] (Oslo, Norway: Solum, 1981) [coll: pb/Bengt Olsson]
links
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