NOTE: Still in editing; published as an in-progress article
By John E. Xavier
Preface
Notes to Introduction
Part One: Tales, Deep Waters, and Microhistory
Tribes and nations, as well as people, require tales,
and may die for lack of a believable one.
-- Christine Nystrom
Translation? Well, it is really wading into
deep waters and searching for footing.
--Edward E. Milligan
A stricter notion is needed for translation proper:
for that, the common term is equivalence....
Translation theory may [call itself]..."science"
but never..."exact science."
--Lowry Nelson Jr. [1]
Professors Nystrom, Milligan, and Nelson touch on a pair of simple truths: substance is to be found everywhere in historical and literary works, and many of which are in languages foreign to the particular project at hand. In this instance, the project at hand was that of Magdalene X. Visovatti's translation, Norwegian Poems, from the formal Norwegian to American English.
It falls on us as successors to Rev. Karl Xavier and Magdalene X. Visovatti to re-tell the tales, to re-translate and re-interpret the stories--in this case, as found in such works as Norwegian Poems. And we must do so in a manner worthy of the members of our extended family.
Furthermore, it falls on us to pass those works on for the good, for the coherency, of our extended families, neighborhoods and indeed our nation and our world. This 1980 translation task was a major challenge for an 83-year-old retired schoolteacher, but Magdalene X. Visovatti was up to it. In line with these few thoughts, I thought it made some sense to look a bit further into Aunt Mag's translation work in light of ideas about narratives and translation, as touched on by Nystrom, Milligan, and Nelson, or others.
In the autumn of 1980, Magdalene X. Visovatti (1897-1988) was a natural choice for a major Xavier family translation project, even though it meant wading into deep literary waters. She was well-chosen and fully capable of the challenge: translation of eighty-odd pages of manuscript poetry in Dano-Norwegian, authored by her father, Rev. Karl Xavier (1869-1924) Those many pages of his poems were indeed deep literary waters, having been previously, and for the most part, vetted and published in various magazines and journals.
The manuscripts were in Karl Xavier's meticulous handwriting, in the Dano-Norwegian language so beloved up to the 1940s in the circles of formally educated Norwegian Americans. For nearly sixty years since his death in 1924, the manuscripts had been preserved by his daughter, Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin, as related in the Introduction to this article. [2]
What followed in Karl Xavier's posthumous work, Norwegian Poems, was more than Visobatti's translation effort. After all, a book that would be monumental for Xavier family history could be viewed differently by non-family members. Against a larger backdrop, such a book could even be dismissed, in ignorance, as just another dusty exercise in bilingual dictionary work, published merely to translate a few scribblings of a long-dead rural pastor--albeit one who was educated, articulate, and prolific in putting pen to paper!
However, in Norwegian Poems, there really was much more at stake than a few pages of poetry for a translated collection. This will be a bit redundant here, but it is important to recall several key points. It is fair to say that the Xavier extended family is itself a worthy topic of historical study. For one, the family arising from N.P. and Amanda Xavier had played major roles since 1873 in one of the largest Norwegian ethnic groups in North America. This was a church affinity group: Norsk Lutherske Synode, or The Norwegian Lutheran Synod ("The Synod"). These roles carried on past the 1917 merger of The Synod with other Norwegian Lutheran groups.[3]
In addition, from the time of the 1873 arrival of N.P. and Amanda Xavier, up to the 1924 death of Rev. Karl Xavier, the large Xavier extended family influenced or was itself influenced by every major social and economic movement in North America--as remains the case to this day. We can freely choose almost any topic of history for discussion: peace and war, gold mines, matters of church or higher education, rural economics, professional and technological advances, and more.
These topics inevitably include the Xavier extended family, and, those topics permeate Norwegian Poems. During his lifetime, Karl Xavier's poetry reveals his deeply felt attempts at grappling with both the personal (micro) and large-scale (macro) aspects of his world. Xavier's world was both spiritual and humanistic. Beyond Karl Xavier's personal expressions, his poetic works were worthy of Visovatti's translation project. His body of work had long found favor among the Norwegian-language literary leaders of his time, including Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag. [4]
Wading into deep waters always involves, as it did for Magdalene X. Visovatti, the challenge of finding one's footing on the way to the discoveries of both work and recreation. In history, footing can be thought of as coherency, and that is among the main challenges of both big-stage "macrohistory" and close-in history, or "microhistory." People or groups seek coherency in a kind of theme or over-arching principle, even on the basic levels of local or family history, or in this case that of the Xavier extended family. Stories, legends, and "tales" serve to fill out a framework so that a believable history, or narrative, can be assembled. Inevitably, if properly researched, that history should prove to be interesting, as well.
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Notes to Part One
[1a] Christine L. Nystrom, "The Crisis of Narrative," in Jonathan R. Slater, ed., "Translation for the Age of Post-Literacy," Translation Review, (University of Texas at Dallas), No. 29 (1989), 2-4.
[1b] Edward E. Milligan, "Lecture Notes, May 1970," University of Wisconsin-Madison. Notes in possession of author. The "deep waters" image for translation brought me great enlightenment in the 1970s. The venerable Professor Edward E. Milligan led major courses to prepare students for comprehensive Master of Arts exams. He spent considerable time on the challenges and discoveries of translating, which he chose to describe as "wading into deep waters and searching for footing."
[1c] Lowry Nelson, Jr., "Literary Translation," Translation Review, (University of Texas at Dallas, No. 29 1989), p. 22. Nelson advocates for a combination of common sense and in-depth study to achieve "equivalence."
[2a] Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, Magdalene X. Visovatti, Ed. and Trans., p.1. Rev. Xavier was highly regarded in many quarters for his writing; his poetry was widely published (see the appendix). Ms. Visovatti spent considerable time hard at the study of Norwegian while enrolled at St. Olaf College under the demanding and beloved Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag. See the Appendix for considerable details on her extensive background in Norwegian, including family life, writing, and translatiion.
[3a] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American Frontier," pp. 245-270.
[3b] See Norlie, School Calendar, p.793-794. See also, Norlie, et al, Pastors of the Norwegian Lutheran Churches, various pages.
[3c] John [Edward] Xavier, "Karl Xavier (1869-1924)", pp. 4-7. This article is followed by his 1919 poem "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] with background furnished by John Edward Xavier.
[4a] Jill Lepore, "Historians Who Love Too Much: Reflections on Microhistory and Biography," The Journal of American History, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jun., 2001), pp. 129-144. Prof. Lepore argues persuasively that a close-in "microhistory" approach is of major assistance in understanding the larger or macro, issues.
[4b] Ole E. Rolvaag, Concerning Our Heritage (Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American Historical Society, 1998), p. 151. Karl Xavier's prolific writings were highly regarded by that most demanding of Norwegian-American literary leaders, Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag. He places Karl Xavier among the "golden voices" of Norwegian language writers in America.
[5] Nystrom, pp. 2-4.
[6] Lepore, pp. 129-144
End of notes to Part One.
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It was fully in character for Ms. Visovatti, at her intellectually vigorous age of 83, to take on translation of numerous poems in manuscript form, even though such work is truly work, and should not be thought of as just another day at the office. Her credentials were legion. She had, to underscore previous remarks, a strong foundation in the formal Dano-Norwegian from studies undertaken with Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Beyond study and writing in Dano-Norwegian, Ms. Visovatti could draw on practical experience gained in the 1970s from a major translation project, that of a biographical article on her grandfather, Nils Paul (N.P.) Xavier. Finally, it is a fair evaluation of Ms. Visovatti to note that in 1980, her greatest credentials remained her ever-present spirit of determined creativity and her vivaciousness. [1]
The energized world of Magdalene matched and encouraged that creativity and vivaciousness. Her grandfather, Nils Paul Xavier, had attained early renown in Norway as translator of a Norwegian-language school reader into the Sami languages. That translation survives today in limited numbers, but would have been known to Magdalene. Her father, Karl Xavier, was an intellectually and socially active man of the educated church leadership class so interwoven with the traditions of Norwegian Lutheranism.
Karl Xavier was the eldest offspring of the prominent Saami (Sami) family of Rev. Nils Paul (N.P.) and Amanda Magdalena (Norum) Xavier, and was born near Lyngen, in Sapmi, the Saami area of Arctic Norway (commonly referred to a century ago as Lappland). His first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen), was the mother of Magdalene.
Henrietta, or "Hennie," was creative and intellectual, but not academically bent; she was of frail health. As was the case of four of the the five children of her mother, Karen Randine (Neuberg ) Larsen, Henrietta did not live past age forty. She died while Magdalene was but age seven, and Karl's second wife, Bina, was to prove both exasperated and blessed by her high-energy step-daughter. Bina was herself a musically gifted and talented music conductor, and so Magdalene was constantly surrounded at home with an atmosphere of intellectual and creative activity to go along with the hectic life of a rural parsonage.
For her multicultural and bi-lingual inclinations, Magdalene could draw from many family reference points. In the USA, the N.P. and Amanda Xavier family maintained close contacts with, and encouraged, various Saami relatives, in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. Among those relatives were siblings of both N.P. and Amanda Xavier, including several Sami Alaska reindeer herders who had gone to the gold mines during the great gold rush in the Nome area around 1900. Their visit to the N.P. and Amanda Xavier home came at a time when Magdalene was quite small, but nonetheless that visit was recounted to her. [2]
[1] For a more complete profile on Magdalene X. Visovatti, refer to the Appendix, Part one.
[2a] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American Frontier" Norwegian-American Studies (Norwegian American Historical Association, Vol. 34, 1995), pp. 245-270. Prof. Niemi drew on many sources, pointing to the possibility of future new sources, methods, and materials.
[2b] John Edward Xavier, "Nils Paul and Amanda: Technology Expands The Story of My Sami American Family," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) No. 46, Gidda/Spring, 2007, pp. 1, 3, 4-6. Particularly interesting is the reprint of a Decorah Posten article from 1901, recounting the visit to Iowa by several Saami gold-miner nephews of N.P. Xavier. It is worth noting that after their visit, two sons of N.P. and Amanda Xavier, Nils Paul (II) and Heinrich soon dropped out of Luther College and went to the gold mines around Nome. Nils Paul (II) stayed until the 1930s!
[2c] Book auction reference here.XXX
[2d] Anton Bang, Erinding, XXXXpshr trg nrrfrf.
[2e] John Edward Xavier, "Karl Xavier (1869-1924)," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) no.54-55, 2009-2010, pp. 4-7. This article is followed by his 1919 poem "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] with background furnished by John Edward Xavier. The above article and this one were both greatly facilitated by technology.
[3] Karl Xavier, "Nils Paul Xavier: en skisse" ["Nils Paul Xavier: A Life Sketch"], Nord-Norge, No. 12 (Northfield, MN, by Nordlandslaget), December 1918, pp. 12-17. This combined biography and eulogy is in Dano-Norwegian, with a wealth of information. Immediately following is Xavier's unsigned poem, "Nils Paul Xavier In Memorium), Ibid., p. 18. The poem, to the memory of N.P. Xavier, also appears in Norwegian Poems.
[3a] Norlie, School Calendar, pp. 793-794.
[4] Ellen Mari Jensen, We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sami Americans (Kautokeino, (Sapmi), Norway: CalliidLagadus, 2012.) Karl Xavier's use of Norwegian for his writings was not unusual among Saami Americans and Saami immigrants. Ms. Jensen offers many examples of language and cultural assimilation in this book, drawn from her Master's thesis, to several studies of families who experienced language and culture masking or assimilation. The Xavier family, for example, while generally well-educated, has no known examples of written work in the Saami languages since N.P. Xavier's Laesebok [Introductory Reader], published out of Tromso in the 1860s. For reviews of Jensen's book, see several sources, including her facebook page.
[4a] Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, p.1. Further mention of Ms. Visovatti's work in Norwegian will occur throughout this article.
[4b] Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar, 793-794.
[4c] Olaf Morgan Norlie, et al. Pastors of the Norwegian Lutheran Churches in America (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1928), several pages. Included are N.P. Xavier, Karl Xavier, Johan U. Xavier, and Anders O. Aasen, among immediate family members, as well as other in-laws, including H. Elstad.
[5] Christine L. Nystrom, "The Crisis of Narrative," in Jonathan R. Slater, ed., "Translation for the Age of Post-Literacy," Translation Review, (University of Texas at Dallas), No. 29 (1989), 2-4.
[6] Jill Lepore, "Historians Who Love Too Much: Reflections on Microhistory and Biography," The Journal of American History, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jun., 2001), pp. 129-144)
[7a] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American Frontier" Norwegian-American Studies (Norwegian American Historical Association, Vol. 34, 1995), pp. 245-270. Prof. Niemi drew on many sources, pointing to the possibility of future new sources, methods, and materials.
[7b] John Edward Xavier, "Nils Paul and Amanda: Technology Expands The Story of My Sami American Family," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) No. 46, Gidda/Spring, 2007, pp. 1, 4-6.
[7c] John Edward Xavier, "Karl Xavier (1869-1924)," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) no.54-55, 2009-2010, pp. 4-7. This article is followed by his 1919 poem "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] with background furnished by John Edward Xavier. The above article and this one were both greatly facilitated by technology.
Appendix
Note: Individuals mentioned in this part are are not yet listed alphabetically by last name, and will be edited accordingly in the future.
Magdalene X. Visovatti (1897-1988), nee Karen Magdalena Xavier - translator and editor
Magdalene X. Visovatti, editor and translator of the 1982 family publication, Norwegian Poems, was Rev. Xavier's eldest daughter, with his first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier (1864-1904). Ms. Visovatti married Toffil (L.T.) Visovatti in 1927, with whom she had a family of three sons, Laurence, Ramon, and Dirk.
As will be evident in this article and others, Magdalene was a high-energy and vivacious woman. She was a brilliant and creative student, with solid credentials of education: Lutheran Normal School, Sioux Falls, SD, for a brief time; St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, for a BA; and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, for a thesis-based MS. These formal credentials were easily matched by her retention of what she had studied, especially of the Norwegian language and literature, while at St. Olaf College under the tutelage of Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag.
Visovatti published poetry of her own in Norwegian, under her self-chosen name of Magdalene Xavier as (she had never liked her birth name of Karen). Two examples of Magdalen's poetry have been found and are referenced here. I intend to translate these two poems and publish them on this blog sometime before the Xavier Family Reunion 2013. Her poems:
N.P.'s wife, Amanda Magdalena spoke both Norwegian and Sami, but only minimal English. Her uncle Johan was still single at the time Magdalene and brothers Paul and Peter lived with grandparents N.P. and Amanda Xavier for about two years (1904-1906), following the death of their mother, Henrietta, in 1904. Thus Magdalene saw first-hand other families beyond her own immediate household where multicultural and multilingual people were the order of the day. All of the Xavier family households of which Visvatti was aware were well-read in topics outside of church literature.
Saami immigrants to North America experienced this sort of linguistic and cultural affiliation (or "masking" as I have heard it described by Native American author Sherman Alexie). Multilingual life was a necessity, as the Saami were inevitably linked to a Nordic community Norwegian, Swedish, or Finnish) when immigrating to the United States or the Dominion of Canada. For a recent and solid discussion of cultural affiliation, see Ellen Marie Jensen, We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sami Americans (Karasjok, Norway: CalliidLagadus, 2012).
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Sources for Part Two are drawn from both traditional book references, and from digital sites. These are, first, in the traditional book form: Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar 1824-1924: A Who's Who among Teachers in the Norwegian Lutheran Synods of America. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1924, p. .
Then, from digital sites, there are: Luther College, Decorah, Iowa; Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota; and St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.
1. Books as Author
Tre Pastoral Aflinghandler. Decorah, IA: Forfaterns Forlag, 1913. Theological and practical essays for churches and pastors. In Dano-Norwegian.
Pastoral Tidmaessig Praiken. Decorah, IA: Forfaterns Forlag, 1919. Theological and practical essays for churches and pastors. In Dano-Norwegian.
Norwegian Poems. Magdalene X. Visovatti, Trans. and Ed. Albert Lea, MN: Valdemar.U.A.H. Xavier, 1982. Posthumous published, as translated and collected works, in Dano-Norwegian manuscript reproduction with English translation on facing pages.
2. Books in Translation
G.W. Lose. Opfyldte lofter: fortaelling for ungdommen [Ressurection: a story for children], Karl Xavier, Transl. (Trans. from Swedish to Dano-Norwegian). Decorah, Iowa: Lutheran Pub. House, 1913.
Margareta Lenk, I det lille banevogterhus [In the Little Courthouse], 1913. Karl Xavier, Transl. (Trans. from German to Dano-Norwegian). Decorah, Iowa: Lutheran Publishing House, 1916(?). Ms. Lenk (1841-1917) was somewhat prominent as a writer of children's religious books and stories.
At least 6 other short books, (chapbook-like) of Margareta Lenk. List to be developed.
3. Articles
"Nils Paul Xavier: en skisse" ["Nils Paul Xavier: A Life Sketch"], Nord-Norge, No. 12 (Northfield, MN, by Nordlandslaget), December 1918, pp. 12-17. This combined biography and eulogy is in Dano-Norwegian, with a wealth of information. Immediately following is Xavier's unsigned poem, "Nils Paul Xavier In Memorium), Ibid., p. 18. The poem, to the memory of N.P. Xavier, also appears in Norwegian Poems.
"Hans Jorgen Synnestvedt Astrup," Nord-Norge, No. 20 (Northfield, MN, by Nordlandslaget), December 1920, pp. 5-6. This is a profile of Rev. Hans Astrup, who for a time succeeded his deceased brother, Rev. Nils Astrup, as bishop of the South African mission field (also known as the Schreuder Mission). That mission was based on Norwegian state church outriach, for the Zulu peoples. Hans Astrup was a brother-in-law to Prof. Laur. Larsen of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. Prof. Larsen himself was father-in-law to Karl Xavier, as father of his first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier. The Schreuder Mission was more or less an Astrup family-run mission for several decades. Hans J.S. Astrup developed several books, of bilingual format, in Dano-Norwegian and Zulu. Once more, it is evident how Norwegian Americans were closely linked.
4. Poetry
Note: Karl Xavier's poetry was published in a number of magazines and journals. Those publications are known currently for their general lack of digitization and indexing by author, making it more or less impossible to retrieve all of his poems from those sources. Magdalene X. Visovatti, translator and editor of Norwegian Poems, inventoried some of the publications in her introductory remarks:
End of Part Two of the Appendix
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By John E. Xavier
Dedication
To the memory of
Magdalene X. Visovatti and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin
Preface
History, and especially family history, is many times built what on the Duke of Wellington remarked (while summarizing his 1815 victory over Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo): "a close thing." If indeed Waterloo was "a close thing," or as today's English would have us say "a close call," then on a smaller or "microhistory" scale, so was the landmark family literary work, Norwegian Poems by Rev. Karl Xavier.
This massive collection of Norwegian-language poetry and English translations came about by the closest of margins, thanks to the dedication of two half-sisters. They were daughters of Rev. Karl Xavier: Magdalene X. Visovatti, and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin.
Each played a distinct role in giving to the Xavier extended family a gift of their father's poetry, in his original manuscript form: Magdalene X. Visovatti, who waded in deep literary waters as translator, and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin, as document preserver. These women, "survivors" deeply attached to family, reached across nearly six decades, from the death in 1924 of their father. They reached with luck, love, dedication, and skill. Their efforts gave rise in 1982 to a translated posthumous collection of their father's poetry: Norwegian Poems, by Rev. Karl Xavier. Norwegian Poems has been distributed both among and beyond family circles. [1]
There will be several items of interest in the appendix section, which follows at the end of Part One, including: biographical details on Magdalene X. Visovatti and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin; and a limited list of written works of Karl Xavier.
Beyond the example of Norwegian Poems, the Saami North American experience of the extended Xavier family includes information from many sources, the vast bulk of which will be in English. Nonetheless, significant sources will be in other languages: formal Norwegian (or its forebear, Dano-Norwegian), French, Finnish, Swedish, Saami, and more.
It will take translation, then, to bring to the fore a more complete understanding of the story of the Xavier family's Saami American experience. The validity of that statement is easily shown by the example of the long process needed for Norwegian Poems, a vast translation project despite its somewhat limited context in the microcrohistory if the Xavier family. Many have assisted in this article about the importance of translation for the story of the Xavier family experience. In the following Acknowledgements I offer recognition to the many who have assisted in this article.
Translation may appear to some to be "a chancy job, making one watchful or a little lonely," in the manner of a frontier US Marshall. All of that is true, but to build around the translation and offer context to interested audiences, much more than competent translation is called for: it takes ideas and discussion with many people.
As J. U. Xavier notes in his List, Magdalene X. Visovatti, nee Karen Magdalena Xavier (1897-1988), was the eldest daughter of Karl Xavier and his first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier (1864-1904). Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin (1907-2002) was the eldest child of Karl Xavier and his second wife, Bina Christine (Kamrud) Xavier (1880-1931). See notes in "Introduction" and the Appendix for more detail on Magdalene X. Visovatti and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin.
End of notes to Dedication, Preface, and Acknowledgements
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Introduction
This massive collection of Norwegian-language poetry and English translations came about by the closest of margins, thanks to the dedication of two half-sisters. They were daughters of Rev. Karl Xavier: Magdalene X. Visovatti, and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin.
Each played a distinct role in giving to the Xavier extended family a gift of their father's poetry, in his original manuscript form: Magdalene X. Visovatti, who waded in deep literary waters as translator, and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin, as document preserver. These women, "survivors" deeply attached to family, reached across nearly six decades, from the death in 1924 of their father. They reached with luck, love, dedication, and skill. Their efforts gave rise in 1982 to a translated posthumous collection of their father's poetry: Norwegian Poems, by Rev. Karl Xavier. Norwegian Poems has been distributed both among and beyond family circles. [1]
There will be several items of interest in the appendix section, which follows at the end of Part One, including: biographical details on Magdalene X. Visovatti and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin; and a limited list of written works of Karl Xavier.
Beyond the example of Norwegian Poems, the Saami North American experience of the extended Xavier family includes information from many sources, the vast bulk of which will be in English. Nonetheless, significant sources will be in other languages: formal Norwegian (or its forebear, Dano-Norwegian), French, Finnish, Swedish, Saami, and more.
It will take translation, then, to bring to the fore a more complete understanding of the story of the Xavier family's Saami American experience. The validity of that statement is easily shown by the example of the long process needed for Norwegian Poems, a vast translation project despite its somewhat limited context in the microcrohistory if the Xavier family. Many have assisted in this article about the importance of translation for the story of the Xavier family experience. In the following Acknowledgements I offer recognition to the many who have assisted in this article.
Acknowledgements
Translation may appear to some to be "a chancy job, making one watchful or a little lonely," in the manner of a frontier US Marshall. All of that is true, but to build around the translation and offer context to interested audiences, much more than competent translation is called for: it takes ideas and discussion with many people.
Accordingly, for their assistance in this article, I thank the following generous
individuals (alphabetically by last name): Odell Bjerkness of Concordia
College, Moorhead; Christian Caille of St. Caradec, France; Hiram Drache of Concordia College; George Farrah of Minneapolis,
Alfred Glauser of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; David R. Green, of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN; Charles
Grubb of Southwest State University, Marshall, MN; and Herbert S.
Gochberg, Edwin E. Milligan, and Karl "Pete" Schofer, all of the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. They expended time and effort in
educating me to various elements of translation, including methods,
materials, and rigorous approaches. Professors Glauser, Gochberg, Milligan and Schofer were particularly helpful in the area of poetry, for analysis, composition, enjoyment, teaching, and translation.
In like manner, I also thank several Saami-related individuals: Evelyn Ashford, current Editor of Arran (a Sami-American newsletter);
Dr. Tim Frandy of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his
leadership in translating the poetry of Sola Sargon; Jennifer Harkonen,
Saami-American writer and leader; S. C. Hostetter, dance authority; Ellen Marie (Ella
Marja) Jensen, author-historian; Arden Johnson, Editor Emeritus of Arran; Saami
cousin and author Alf Isak Keskitalo for inspiration; and, finally,
Saami author-literary prize nominee Sola Sargon for offering her
published poetry in 2012 for a trans-Atlantic exchange in translation at
Siiddastallan 2012, sponsored by the Sami Siida of North America.
For research, archive and other assistance, gratitude both
professional and personal goes out to S.C. Hostetter of London, UK, for cultural insight into the history of the Oslo dance and theatre communities; Dr. Boyd Koehler of Augsburg
College, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dr. David Olshin, formerly of the
University of Calgary and Bemidji State University; Kristin Ringdahl of
Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington; Jeff Sauve of the
Norwegian American Historical Association in Northfield, Minnesota, and
Mr. Cecil T. Spafford, teacher extraordinaire of both English and French, now retired in North Dakota.
I salute all of these these individual who have shared astute thoughts on the topics of history and culture; their influence is evident throughout the article. I salute not only them, but others too numerous to mention here.
--------------I salute all of these these individual who have shared astute thoughts on the topics of history and culture; their influence is evident throughout the article. I salute not only them, but others too numerous to mention here.
Notes to Dedication, Preface, and Acknowledgements
Author's remark on sources, notes, and references: Throughout this article, in the "Notes" sections, names of authors, editors, and translators will be in bold text. Items inside brackets are added by John E. Xavier.
[1a] Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, Magdalene X. Visovatti, Ed. and Trans. (Albert
Lea, MN: Valdemar U.A.H. Xavier, 1982), p.1. Rev. Xavier (1869-1924), a rural Lutheran pastor for thirty years, was highly
regarded in many quarters for his writing. His poetry was widely
published in Dano-Norwegian (formal Norwegian), as will be discussed in this essay. This essay features an
appendix listing certain of his publications as well as some original
source material. Magdalene X. Visovatti was herself a published writer of poetry and had studied the Norwegian language at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, under Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag (1876-1931).
[1b] Johan U. Xavier, List of Descendants of Nils Paul and Amanda Xavier [Family Tree] (Parkland, WA: J.U. Xavier, 1960, pp. 1, 5-6. Johan U. Xavier (1870-1963) was for nearly sixty years the central figure in the Xavier family in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a major presence at Pacific Lutheran University, where he served as Interim (Organizing) President in 1920-21.As J. U. Xavier notes in his List, Magdalene X. Visovatti, nee Karen Magdalena Xavier (1897-1988), was the eldest daughter of Karl Xavier and his first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier (1864-1904). Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin (1907-2002) was the eldest child of Karl Xavier and his second wife, Bina Christine (Kamrud) Xavier (1880-1931). See notes in "Introduction" and the Appendix for more detail on Magdalene X. Visovatti and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin.
End of notes to Dedication, Preface, and Acknowledgements
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Introduction
Magdalene X. Visovatti and Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin were the two half-sisters central to the publication of Rev. Karl Xavier's assembled poetry collection, Norwegian Poems. In the absence of their dedicated efforts, imbued as they were with love of family, it would highly difficult to imagine the existence of such a collection as Norwegian Poems--even with modern research technology. The realities are that nearly all of Karl Xavier's poems appeared more than a century ago, in specialized periodicals which even now remain undigitized, and most of which are seemingly not even indexed by author.
Such facts add up to a nearly insurmountable barrier to the task of gathering Karl Xavier's poetry into one work. Nonetheless, there has been a certain level of interest, beyond Xavier family circles, in the lives and works of various Xavier family members, most particularly those of Karl Xavier and his next-youngest sibling, Johan Ulrik Xavier.[1]
By way of example of that certain level of interest, knowledge of the publication of Norwegian Poems is not limited to extended Xavier family members. During his own lifetime, Karl Xavier's poetic body of work was published in a number of Norwegian periodicals. In more recent times, his posthumous collection, Norwegian Poems, has been archived since 1982 at both Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN.
Karl Xavier's poetic works have been mentioned in recent years in historical articles, by established historians. A selection from Norwegian Poems, "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] was republished in 2010, by the Saami American periodical Arran, as a companion piece to a biographical article. That poem appears in this blog in the article "Karl Xavier's Poetry of Hope in 1919, After A Difficult Year." [2]
Such facts add up to a nearly insurmountable barrier to the task of gathering Karl Xavier's poetry into one work. Nonetheless, there has been a certain level of interest, beyond Xavier family circles, in the lives and works of various Xavier family members, most particularly those of Karl Xavier and his next-youngest sibling, Johan Ulrik Xavier.[1]
By way of example of that certain level of interest, knowledge of the publication of Norwegian Poems is not limited to extended Xavier family members. During his own lifetime, Karl Xavier's poetic body of work was published in a number of Norwegian periodicals. In more recent times, his posthumous collection, Norwegian Poems, has been archived since 1982 at both Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN.
Karl Xavier's poetic works have been mentioned in recent years in historical articles, by established historians. A selection from Norwegian Poems, "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] was republished in 2010, by the Saami American periodical Arran, as a companion piece to a biographical article. That poem appears in this blog in the article "Karl Xavier's Poetry of Hope in 1919, After A Difficult Year." [2]
It came to pass when Karl Xavier died suddenly in 1924 that small portions of his voluminous papers were saved, and only by a very slim margin at that. In brief, it was a "close thing." Other papers, limited in numbers, including manuscript sermons and letters, were saved by various individuals. Many more of his papers were simply lost or destroyed in the confused aftermath of his death. Much of this was due to pressing circumstances. Karl Xavier's widow, Bina--already struggling with declining health--had to make hasty and grievous decisions, including selling furniture, disposing of her husbands large library and papers; and that of moving her large family of seven children to Minneapolis. There she would reside on the same city block as the Aasen family, the family of her sister-in-law Marit (Xavier) Aasen and Marit's pastor husband, Anders O. Aasen. There on the 1400 Monroe Street in "Northeast," the family would have abundant opportunity for education, employment, medical care, religious worship, and more.
What then was this "close thing" that led to Norwegian Poems? The survival of the poetry was due to a thin margin of saving moments: a lonely decision to hastily gather up and conserve a few papers. That lonely decision was made by a grief-fueled seventeen-year old daughter, Valborg. For fear of the loss of her father's papers, she secretly preserved the eighty-odd pages of manuscripts until 1980.
In 1980, those manuscripts surfaced as a surprise development during Valborg's move to a nursing home. By way of personal memoir, the author vividly recalls witnessing the 1980 "revelation" of the poetry manuscripts. Assisting Valborg with her nursing home move were the author, along with her brothers and sisters-in-law, Karl Astrup and Edith (Bethke) Xavier, and Valdemar U.A.H. and Elna (Johnson) Xavier. Several hours into the process of packing and disposal of Valborg's possessions, Valdemar found himself holding in his hand a file folder. He was disconcerted by the label, in Valborg's shaky hand, indicating papers from their father, Karl Xavier.
When Valborg immediately explained the nature of the contents of that file folder, she went on for several minutes, in and out of flashback to 1924, reliving her father's death and the confusion surrounding her family at that time. She was intense and adamant that "everything was going," and that "somebody had to save some of Dad's papers." Finally, she went silent, and then we all ourselves went silent for what seemed quite a while. When we broke silence, there was consensus within a very few minutes that Valborg's folder held papers of great value. Karl Astup had a near-minor in Norwegian in his years at Augsburg College. Lacking confidence in his skills in the Norwegian, Karl suggested the translation of those papers would be best served if the job was assigned to Magdalene X. Visovatti. Again, consensus was rapid and unanimous. So went the genesis of Norwegian Poems, a close thing that might very well have been lost to the mists and confusions of time, but for the heroic gestures of a seventeen-year-old girl.
What then was this "close thing" that led to Norwegian Poems? The survival of the poetry was due to a thin margin of saving moments: a lonely decision to hastily gather up and conserve a few papers. That lonely decision was made by a grief-fueled seventeen-year old daughter, Valborg. For fear of the loss of her father's papers, she secretly preserved the eighty-odd pages of manuscripts until 1980.
In 1980, those manuscripts surfaced as a surprise development during Valborg's move to a nursing home. By way of personal memoir, the author vividly recalls witnessing the 1980 "revelation" of the poetry manuscripts. Assisting Valborg with her nursing home move were the author, along with her brothers and sisters-in-law, Karl Astrup and Edith (Bethke) Xavier, and Valdemar U.A.H. and Elna (Johnson) Xavier. Several hours into the process of packing and disposal of Valborg's possessions, Valdemar found himself holding in his hand a file folder. He was disconcerted by the label, in Valborg's shaky hand, indicating papers from their father, Karl Xavier.
When Valborg immediately explained the nature of the contents of that file folder, she went on for several minutes, in and out of flashback to 1924, reliving her father's death and the confusion surrounding her family at that time. She was intense and adamant that "everything was going," and that "somebody had to save some of Dad's papers." Finally, she went silent, and then we all ourselves went silent for what seemed quite a while. When we broke silence, there was consensus within a very few minutes that Valborg's folder held papers of great value. Karl Astup had a near-minor in Norwegian in his years at Augsburg College. Lacking confidence in his skills in the Norwegian, Karl suggested the translation of those papers would be best served if the job was assigned to Magdalene X. Visovatti. Again, consensus was rapid and unanimous. So went the genesis of Norwegian Poems, a close thing that might very well have been lost to the mists and confusions of time, but for the heroic gestures of a seventeen-year-old girl.
The rest of the publication story of Norwegian Poems seemed to follow logically, with a well-prepared, energetic matriarchal figure at hand as translator, in the person of Magdalene. Magdalene. "Mag" proved to be a worthy literary translator, working though the manuscripts with all deliberate speed. Printing logistics and support were delegated to other siblings, particularly Karl and Valdemar, with some financial assistance and moral encouragement from sisters, Anna (Xavier) Larson, Mabel (Xavier) Teerman, and Borghild (Xavier) Selid.
Yet the dominant fact of Norwegian Poems is clear: the entire project was made possible by Valborg, in her hurried decision as a teenage girl to save some of her father's papers. It was Valborg's deep fear that all of her father's papers could be lost that led her to preserve at least some of them. Those papers chosen by her, the manuscript poems, gave rise nearly sixty years later to the massive translation project resulting in Norwegian Poems.
Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin thus earns equal billing with Magdalene X. Visovatti in the dedication line of this article. May this article prove worthy of their memory. [3]
Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin thus earns equal billing with Magdalene X. Visovatti in the dedication line of this article. May this article prove worthy of their memory. [3]
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Notes to Introduction
[1a] Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, p.1. The appendix of this article lists publications of poetry or other works of Rev. Xavier, who was highly regarded in many quarters for his writing.
[1b] Johan U. Xavier, List of Descendants of Nils Paul and Amanda Xavier (Parkland, WA: J.U. Xavier, 1960, pp. 1, 5-6.
[1c] Karen Larsen, Laur. Larsen: Pioneer College President (Northfield, MN: Norwegian American Historical Association, 1936), pp. 277, 284, 335; Index refs., p. 355. Karen Larsen's book, one of the monuments in the written record of the Norwegian American experience, contains a wealth of history, on levels of both family microhistory and large-scale immigrant history.
[1d] Kristin Ringdahl, Ed. The Diaries of J.U. Xavier Tacoma, WA: Pacific Lutheran University Archives, 2004), pp. 1-10.
[1e] Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar 1824-1924: A Who's Who among Teachers in the Norwegian Lutheran Synods of America (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1924), pp. 403-404.
[1c] Karen Larsen, Laur. Larsen: Pioneer College President (Northfield, MN: Norwegian American Historical Association, 1936), pp. 277, 284, 335; Index refs., p. 355. Karen Larsen's book, one of the monuments in the written record of the Norwegian American experience, contains a wealth of history, on levels of both family microhistory and large-scale immigrant history.
[1d] Kristin Ringdahl, Ed. The Diaries of J.U. Xavier Tacoma, WA: Pacific Lutheran University Archives, 2004), pp. 1-10.
[1e] Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar 1824-1924: A Who's Who among Teachers in the Norwegian Lutheran Synods of America (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1924), pp. 403-404.
[2a] Karl Xavier, "Nils Paul Xavier: en skisse" ["Nils Paul Xavier: A Life Sketch"], Nord-Norge, No. 12 (Northfield, MN, by Nordlandslaget), December 1918, pp. 12-17. This combined biography and eulogy is in Norwegian, with a wealth of information. Immediately following is Karl Xavier's unsigned poem, "Nils Paul Xavier In Memorium), Ibid., p. 18. The poem, to the memory of N.P. Xavier, also appears in Norwegian Poems, p.65.
[2b] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American frontier," Norwegian American Studies (Norwegian American Historical Association, Vol. 34, 1995), pp. 245-270. Prof. Niemi drew on many historical and literary sources for the major contribution to Xavier family history, pointing to the possibility of future new sources, methods, and materials. Niemi mentions Karl Xavier's "in memoriam" poem published in Nord-Norge at the death of N.P. Xavier.
[2b] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American frontier," Norwegian American Studies (Norwegian American Historical Association, Vol. 34, 1995), pp. 245-270. Prof. Niemi drew on many historical and literary sources for the major contribution to Xavier family history, pointing to the possibility of future new sources, methods, and materials. Niemi mentions Karl Xavier's "in memoriam" poem published in Nord-Norge at the death of N.P. Xavier.
[2c] John Edward Xavier, "Nils Paul and Amanda: Technology Expands The Story of My Sami American Family," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) No. 46, Gidda/Spring, 2007, pp. 1, 4-6.
[2d] John [Edward] Xavier, "Karl Xavier (1869-1924)," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) nos. 54-55, 2009-2010, pp. 4-7. This article is followed by his 1919 poem "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] with background furnished by John Edward Xavier. This, and the above, article were greatly facilitated by technology, in tandem with traditional research approaches.
[3a] Suzanne Heiss, "Norwegian Poems Come to Life In English," Lake Country Living (No City, WI., September 23, 1982), no. page. In this news story about Magdalene X. Visovatti and her translation work, reporter Heiss recounts Visovatti's painstaking efforts, so necessary to give a worthy rendition of Karl Xavier's work. That work would appear in 1982 as Norwegian Poems.
[3b] By way of personal memoir, the author recalls the 1980 "revelation" of the poetry manuscripts at the time of Valborg Houghtelin's move to a nursing home. Notes in possession of the author.
End of Notes to Introduction
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[3a] Suzanne Heiss, "Norwegian Poems Come to Life In English," Lake Country Living (No City, WI., September 23, 1982), no. page. In this news story about Magdalene X. Visovatti and her translation work, reporter Heiss recounts Visovatti's painstaking efforts, so necessary to give a worthy rendition of Karl Xavier's work. That work would appear in 1982 as Norwegian Poems.
[3b] By way of personal memoir, the author recalls the 1980 "revelation" of the poetry manuscripts at the time of Valborg Houghtelin's move to a nursing home. Notes in possession of the author.
End of Notes to Introduction
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Tribes and nations, as well as people, require tales,
and may die for lack of a believable one.
-- Christine Nystrom
Translation? Well, it is really wading into
deep waters and searching for footing.
--Edward E. Milligan
A stricter notion is needed for translation proper:
for that, the common term is equivalence....
Translation theory may [call itself]..."science"
but never..."exact science."
--Lowry Nelson Jr. [1]
Professors Nystrom, Milligan, and Nelson touch on a pair of simple truths: substance is to be found everywhere in historical and literary works, and many of which are in languages foreign to the particular project at hand. In this instance, the project at hand was that of Magdalene X. Visovatti's translation, Norwegian Poems, from the formal Norwegian to American English.
It falls on us as successors to Rev. Karl Xavier and Magdalene X. Visovatti to re-tell the tales, to re-translate and re-interpret the stories--in this case, as found in such works as Norwegian Poems. And we must do so in a manner worthy of the members of our extended family.
Furthermore, it falls on us to pass those works on for the good, for the coherency, of our extended families, neighborhoods and indeed our nation and our world. This 1980 translation task was a major challenge for an 83-year-old retired schoolteacher, but Magdalene X. Visovatti was up to it. In line with these few thoughts, I thought it made some sense to look a bit further into Aunt Mag's translation work in light of ideas about narratives and translation, as touched on by Nystrom, Milligan, and Nelson, or others.
In the autumn of 1980, Magdalene X. Visovatti (1897-1988) was a natural choice for a major Xavier family translation project, even though it meant wading into deep literary waters. She was well-chosen and fully capable of the challenge: translation of eighty-odd pages of manuscript poetry in Dano-Norwegian, authored by her father, Rev. Karl Xavier (1869-1924) Those many pages of his poems were indeed deep literary waters, having been previously, and for the most part, vetted and published in various magazines and journals.
The manuscripts were in Karl Xavier's meticulous handwriting, in the Dano-Norwegian language so beloved up to the 1940s in the circles of formally educated Norwegian Americans. For nearly sixty years since his death in 1924, the manuscripts had been preserved by his daughter, Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin, as related in the Introduction to this article. [2]
What followed in Karl Xavier's posthumous work, Norwegian Poems, was more than Visobatti's translation effort. After all, a book that would be monumental for Xavier family history could be viewed differently by non-family members. Against a larger backdrop, such a book could even be dismissed, in ignorance, as just another dusty exercise in bilingual dictionary work, published merely to translate a few scribblings of a long-dead rural pastor--albeit one who was educated, articulate, and prolific in putting pen to paper!
However, in Norwegian Poems, there really was much more at stake than a few pages of poetry for a translated collection. This will be a bit redundant here, but it is important to recall several key points. It is fair to say that the Xavier extended family is itself a worthy topic of historical study. For one, the family arising from N.P. and Amanda Xavier had played major roles since 1873 in one of the largest Norwegian ethnic groups in North America. This was a church affinity group: Norsk Lutherske Synode, or The Norwegian Lutheran Synod ("The Synod"). These roles carried on past the 1917 merger of The Synod with other Norwegian Lutheran groups.[3]
In addition, from the time of the 1873 arrival of N.P. and Amanda Xavier, up to the 1924 death of Rev. Karl Xavier, the large Xavier extended family influenced or was itself influenced by every major social and economic movement in North America--as remains the case to this day. We can freely choose almost any topic of history for discussion: peace and war, gold mines, matters of church or higher education, rural economics, professional and technological advances, and more.
These topics inevitably include the Xavier extended family, and, those topics permeate Norwegian Poems. During his lifetime, Karl Xavier's poetry reveals his deeply felt attempts at grappling with both the personal (micro) and large-scale (macro) aspects of his world. Xavier's world was both spiritual and humanistic. Beyond Karl Xavier's personal expressions, his poetic works were worthy of Visovatti's translation project. His body of work had long found favor among the Norwegian-language literary leaders of his time, including Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag. [4]
Wading into deep waters always involves, as it did for Magdalene X. Visovatti, the challenge of finding one's footing on the way to the discoveries of both work and recreation. In history, footing can be thought of as coherency, and that is among the main challenges of both big-stage "macrohistory" and close-in history, or "microhistory." People or groups seek coherency in a kind of theme or over-arching principle, even on the basic levels of local or family history, or in this case that of the Xavier extended family. Stories, legends, and "tales" serve to fill out a framework so that a believable history, or narrative, can be assembled. Inevitably, if properly researched, that history should prove to be interesting, as well.
Such a history, or narrative, as exemplified by Karl Xavier's poetry (and other work) must be clear and understandable in a way that can be embraced by a group with some sort of coherence, a cohesiveness or a togetherness that can stand the tests of time and crisis. In somewhat of a contrast with Jill Lepore's microhistory approach, Nystrom argues this dual challenge of narrative and cohesiveness calls into question some elements of "tribal tales." Nonetheless, Nystrom is still arguing that "tales" are needed and are related to technology and other larger issues, including big-stage world events.
The dual challenge goes right down to the value and meaning of what Christine Nystrom has called "tribes,"or what I choose to call extended families.
The dual challenge goes right down to the value and meaning of what Christine Nystrom has called "tribes,"or what I choose to call extended families.
Tribes and nations, as well as people, require tales, and may die for lack of a believable one. In America, for 200 years we have told ourselves that our experiment in government is part of God's own plan. In the [former] Soviet Union they have told themselves that their experiment in government [was] history's plan. Perhaps neither nation believes these tales now -- and woe unto us all if they do not find some other, large enough to accommodate both, for we are living now in a world that technology has made too small for tribal tales. [5]
This article, one of several of the Xavier family history, has a purpose: discovering, documenting, and in some cases, translating and interpreting the "tales," or the narrative, of the extended Xavier Family. If there is a cohesiveness to be found in the Xavier tales and narratives, it is in one main theme: human relationships, most of which were on an a scale best described as extended family, or tribal. And so we have to ask whether the world is indeed "too small for tribal tales."
Those human relationships were many for the extended Xavier family, large as it is in number and varied in word and deed. The Xavier topics are documented in many ways and places, in large volume, and in several languages--as part and parcel of the extended family tales. Therefore, some of the cohesiveness will come about by translation into a commonly held language, American English. Meeting the challenges of that translation will lead to many moments of delight, for there ought to be fun in the process of discovery.
Those human relationships were many for the extended Xavier family, large as it is in number and varied in word and deed. The Xavier topics are documented in many ways and places, in large volume, and in several languages--as part and parcel of the extended family tales. Therefore, some of the cohesiveness will come about by translation into a commonly held language, American English. Meeting the challenges of that translation will lead to many moments of delight, for there ought to be fun in the process of discovery.
Prof. Nystrom has made an excellent and brief statement of principle on the human need for tales, or narrative. There is, however, an argument against her fear of technology. Prof. Nystrom's fear of technology (read as, nuclear or other advanced, weapons) does not necessarily apply to development of modern family history. Family members may be spread out by geography, in a vast and technology-driven economy, and may be subject to the large changes or upheavals of a large nation.
Nonetheless, in brief, that very technology-heavy world may also provide travel, communication, record-keeping, research, and translation--all leading to degrees of cohesiveness and togetherness. On a small scale, this sort of social cohesiveness can be thought of as "microhistory." To further pursue that point, on the foundation level of close-in, or "microhistory," Harvard historian Jill Lepore has long articulated the view that such microhistory serves the purpose of helping to understand the larger-stage pictures of our communities: family, local, regional, national, and international. [6]
In sum, the lively and on-going debate continues about issues both small and large. We will see in this article and in this blog that for the extended Xavier family, there has never been a separation of small and large issues. For the extended Xavier family, microhistory has been actively caught up in macrohistory, and so here it is that we find the very justification of Xavier family history.
Nonetheless, in brief, that very technology-heavy world may also provide travel, communication, record-keeping, research, and translation--all leading to degrees of cohesiveness and togetherness. On a small scale, this sort of social cohesiveness can be thought of as "microhistory." To further pursue that point, on the foundation level of close-in, or "microhistory," Harvard historian Jill Lepore has long articulated the view that such microhistory serves the purpose of helping to understand the larger-stage pictures of our communities: family, local, regional, national, and international. [6]
In sum, the lively and on-going debate continues about issues both small and large. We will see in this article and in this blog that for the extended Xavier family, there has never been a separation of small and large issues. For the extended Xavier family, microhistory has been actively caught up in macrohistory, and so here it is that we find the very justification of Xavier family history.
---------------
Notes to Part One
[1a] Christine L. Nystrom, "The Crisis of Narrative," in Jonathan R. Slater, ed., "Translation for the Age of Post-Literacy," Translation Review, (University of Texas at Dallas), No. 29 (1989), 2-4.
[1b] Edward E. Milligan, "Lecture Notes, May 1970," University of Wisconsin-Madison. Notes in possession of author. The "deep waters" image for translation brought me great enlightenment in the 1970s. The venerable Professor Edward E. Milligan led major courses to prepare students for comprehensive Master of Arts exams. He spent considerable time on the challenges and discoveries of translating, which he chose to describe as "wading into deep waters and searching for footing."
[1c] Lowry Nelson, Jr., "Literary Translation," Translation Review, (University of Texas at Dallas, No. 29 1989), p. 22. Nelson advocates for a combination of common sense and in-depth study to achieve "equivalence."
[2a] Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, Magdalene X. Visovatti, Ed. and Trans., p.1. Rev. Xavier was highly regarded in many quarters for his writing; his poetry was widely published (see the appendix). Ms. Visovatti spent considerable time hard at the study of Norwegian while enrolled at St. Olaf College under the demanding and beloved Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag. See the Appendix for considerable details on her extensive background in Norwegian, including family life, writing, and translatiion.
[3a] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American Frontier," pp. 245-270.
[3b] See Norlie, School Calendar, p.793-794. See also, Norlie, et al, Pastors of the Norwegian Lutheran Churches, various pages.
[3c] John [Edward] Xavier, "Karl Xavier (1869-1924)", pp. 4-7. This article is followed by his 1919 poem "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] with background furnished by John Edward Xavier.
[4a] Jill Lepore, "Historians Who Love Too Much: Reflections on Microhistory and Biography," The Journal of American History, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jun., 2001), pp. 129-144. Prof. Lepore argues persuasively that a close-in "microhistory" approach is of major assistance in understanding the larger or macro, issues.
[4b] Ole E. Rolvaag, Concerning Our Heritage (Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American Historical Society, 1998), p. 151. Karl Xavier's prolific writings were highly regarded by that most demanding of Norwegian-American literary leaders, Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag. He places Karl Xavier among the "golden voices" of Norwegian language writers in America.
[5] Nystrom, pp. 2-4.
[6] Lepore, pp. 129-144
End of notes to Part One.
Part Two: Magdalene X. Visovatti's World:
Multicultural Waters for Wading
Multicultural Waters for Wading
It was fully in character for Ms. Visovatti, at her intellectually vigorous age of 83, to take on translation of numerous poems in manuscript form, even though such work is truly work, and should not be thought of as just another day at the office. Her credentials were legion. She had, to underscore previous remarks, a strong foundation in the formal Dano-Norwegian from studies undertaken with Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Beyond study and writing in Dano-Norwegian, Ms. Visovatti could draw on practical experience gained in the 1970s from a major translation project, that of a biographical article on her grandfather, Nils Paul (N.P.) Xavier. Finally, it is a fair evaluation of Ms. Visovatti to note that in 1980, her greatest credentials remained her ever-present spirit of determined creativity and her vivaciousness. [1]
Karl Xavier was the eldest offspring of the prominent Saami (Sami) family of Rev. Nils Paul (N.P.) and Amanda Magdalena (Norum) Xavier, and was born near Lyngen, in Sapmi, the Saami area of Arctic Norway (commonly referred to a century ago as Lappland). His first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen), was the mother of Magdalene.
Henrietta, or "Hennie," was creative and intellectual, but not academically bent; she was of frail health. As was the case of four of the the five children of her mother, Karen Randine (Neuberg ) Larsen, Henrietta did not live past age forty. She died while Magdalene was but age seven, and Karl's second wife, Bina, was to prove both exasperated and blessed by her high-energy step-daughter. Bina was herself a musically gifted and talented music conductor, and so Magdalene was constantly surrounded at home with an atmosphere of intellectual and creative activity to go along with the hectic life of a rural parsonage.
For her multicultural and bi-lingual inclinations, Magdalene could draw from many family reference points. In the USA, the N.P. and Amanda Xavier family maintained close contacts with, and encouraged, various Saami relatives, in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. Among those relatives were siblings of both N.P. and Amanda Xavier, including several Sami Alaska reindeer herders who had gone to the gold mines during the great gold rush in the Nome area around 1900. Their visit to the N.P. and Amanda Xavier home came at a time when Magdalene was quite small, but nonetheless that visit was recounted to her. [2]
In addition to immediate Saami-related family ties, Karl Xavier
was active in Saami-related and northern Norwegian topics with the old Nordlandslaget ethnic organization here in the USA, especially through the quarterly journal, Nord-Norge. (Nord-Norge, which continues to appear to in our times, was in significant part a project of Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag.) In spite of that Saami background, Karl Xavier's substantial body of
work was published either in Norwegian or English. In sum, like unto the manner of
his father, N.P. Xavier, Karl Xavier was a man of education, and who
spoke, worked, and translated fluently in several languages, including
German and Swedish.
Karl Xavier's substantial body of work included theological books, translations, articles (both authored and edited), poems, sermons and letters, and personal papers. Most of the sermons, letters and personal papers have been lost or destroyed, and the bulk of his body of work has not been translated into English. In brief, Karl Xavier wrote and published voluminously, but never in the Saami languages. This was despite close Xavier family ties with Saami relatives in the USA, especially those in Alaska and the Seattle area, where nearly all of his immediate family had moved. [3]
The Saami languages were, of course, spoken by few people in North America. Thus, for the rapidly extending families of N.P. and Amanda Xavier, the numerically larger larger Norwegian communities thus became the context for the written work of Karl Xavier.[4]
Magdalene X. Visovatti, in wading into the deep literary water of Karl Xavier's poems, was carrying on her own extended Xavier family context. In addition to her own credentials for translation, Ms. Visovatti was carrying on the family's multilingual ways: in household, professions, translation, and publication. In additon to the role model of her multilingual father, she could look at her leisure to her Grandfather, Rev. Nils Paul (N.P.) Xavier, and uncle Johan (John) U. Xavier. All three, Saami-born, actively used several languages in their family and work lives and were active in editorial and publishing work. These three prominent men lived actively in the context of their education, training, and primary callings as teachers and church ministers in the Norske Lutherske Synode (Norwegian Lutheran Synod, or just "The Synod").
Finally, it is a fair evaluation of Ms. Visovatti to note that in 1980, her greatest credentials remained, on the one hand, her in-depth knowledge of Norwegian from studies with Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag at St. Olaf College. On the other hand, there was her active and ever-present spirit, drawing as it did on her determined creativity and her vivaciousness. Visovatti's work of translation has opened the door to new generations who can now discover a significant portion of their family history, both personal and literary. Magdalene Visovatti waded into deep literary water, found her footing and met the challenges of translation for her beloved Xavier family. [4]
This cohesiveness is particularly evident if family traditions develop and are kept up in the areas of regular reunions, frequent visiting, and recognition of the increasing diversity of our own microhistory. This multi-phased process of cohesiveness has already been demonstrated in recently published work on Xavier topics.[7]
Karl Xavier's substantial body of work included theological books, translations, articles (both authored and edited), poems, sermons and letters, and personal papers. Most of the sermons, letters and personal papers have been lost or destroyed, and the bulk of his body of work has not been translated into English. In brief, Karl Xavier wrote and published voluminously, but never in the Saami languages. This was despite close Xavier family ties with Saami relatives in the USA, especially those in Alaska and the Seattle area, where nearly all of his immediate family had moved. [3]
The Saami languages were, of course, spoken by few people in North America. Thus, for the rapidly extending families of N.P. and Amanda Xavier, the numerically larger larger Norwegian communities thus became the context for the written work of Karl Xavier.[4]
Magdalene X. Visovatti, in wading into the deep literary water of Karl Xavier's poems, was carrying on her own extended Xavier family context. In addition to her own credentials for translation, Ms. Visovatti was carrying on the family's multilingual ways: in household, professions, translation, and publication. In additon to the role model of her multilingual father, she could look at her leisure to her Grandfather, Rev. Nils Paul (N.P.) Xavier, and uncle Johan (John) U. Xavier. All three, Saami-born, actively used several languages in their family and work lives and were active in editorial and publishing work. These three prominent men lived actively in the context of their education, training, and primary callings as teachers and church ministers in the Norske Lutherske Synode (Norwegian Lutheran Synod, or just "The Synod").
Finally, it is a fair evaluation of Ms. Visovatti to note that in 1980, her greatest credentials remained, on the one hand, her in-depth knowledge of Norwegian from studies with Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag at St. Olaf College. On the other hand, there was her active and ever-present spirit, drawing as it did on her determined creativity and her vivaciousness. Visovatti's work of translation has opened the door to new generations who can now discover a significant portion of their family history, both personal and literary. Magdalene Visovatti waded into deep literary water, found her footing and met the challenges of translation for her beloved Xavier family. [4]
This cohesiveness is particularly evident if family traditions develop and are kept up in the areas of regular reunions, frequent visiting, and recognition of the increasing diversity of our own microhistory. This multi-phased process of cohesiveness has already been demonstrated in recently published work on Xavier topics.[7]
In sum and in closing, then, the Xavier Family is large in number, with multiple branches and connections involving many cultures, languages, and events. The history of the Xavier Family will therefore require a considerable amount of translated material, and we look forward to the challenge of continuing to find and translate news sources to supplement those already known. We also hope the articles that emerge from the research, narratives and translations will be worthy of the work already carried out by Madgalene X. Visovatti and others.
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Notes to Part Two
[1] For a more complete profile on Magdalene X. Visovatti, refer to the Appendix, Part one.
[2a] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American Frontier" Norwegian-American Studies (Norwegian American Historical Association, Vol. 34, 1995), pp. 245-270. Prof. Niemi drew on many sources, pointing to the possibility of future new sources, methods, and materials.
[2b] John Edward Xavier, "Nils Paul and Amanda: Technology Expands The Story of My Sami American Family," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) No. 46, Gidda/Spring, 2007, pp. 1, 3, 4-6. Particularly interesting is the reprint of a Decorah Posten article from 1901, recounting the visit to Iowa by several Saami gold-miner nephews of N.P. Xavier. It is worth noting that after their visit, two sons of N.P. and Amanda Xavier, Nils Paul (II) and Heinrich soon dropped out of Luther College and went to the gold mines around Nome. Nils Paul (II) stayed until the 1930s!
[2c] Book auction reference here.XXX
[2d] Anton Bang, Erinding, XXXXpshr trg nrrfrf.
[2e] John Edward Xavier, "Karl Xavier (1869-1924)," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) no.54-55, 2009-2010, pp. 4-7. This article is followed by his 1919 poem "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] with background furnished by John Edward Xavier. The above article and this one were both greatly facilitated by technology.
[3] Karl Xavier, "Nils Paul Xavier: en skisse" ["Nils Paul Xavier: A Life Sketch"], Nord-Norge, No. 12 (Northfield, MN, by Nordlandslaget), December 1918, pp. 12-17. This combined biography and eulogy is in Dano-Norwegian, with a wealth of information. Immediately following is Xavier's unsigned poem, "Nils Paul Xavier In Memorium), Ibid., p. 18. The poem, to the memory of N.P. Xavier, also appears in Norwegian Poems.
[3a] Norlie, School Calendar, pp. 793-794.
[3b] The Appendix to this essay features a selected list of Karl Xavier's known
publications as well as some original source material. There is no known complete inventory of Karl Xavier's body of work. While it is accurate to refer to Karl Xavier's Norwegian writing as "Dano-Norwegian," for sake of simplicity, this article will generally use the term "Norwegian" to describe his written language.
[4] Ellen Mari Jensen, We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sami Americans (Kautokeino, (Sapmi), Norway: CalliidLagadus, 2012.) Karl Xavier's use of Norwegian for his writings was not unusual among Saami Americans and Saami immigrants. Ms. Jensen offers many examples of language and cultural assimilation in this book, drawn from her Master's thesis, to several studies of families who experienced language and culture masking or assimilation. The Xavier family, for example, while generally well-educated, has no known examples of written work in the Saami languages since N.P. Xavier's Laesebok [Introductory Reader], published out of Tromso in the 1860s. For reviews of Jensen's book, see several sources, including her facebook page.
[4a] Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, p.1. Further mention of Ms. Visovatti's work in Norwegian will occur throughout this article.
[4b] Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar, 793-794.
[4c] Olaf Morgan Norlie, et al. Pastors of the Norwegian Lutheran Churches in America (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1928), several pages. Included are N.P. Xavier, Karl Xavier, Johan U. Xavier, and Anders O. Aasen, among immediate family members, as well as other in-laws, including H. Elstad.
[5] Christine L. Nystrom, "The Crisis of Narrative," in Jonathan R. Slater, ed., "Translation for the Age of Post-Literacy," Translation Review, (University of Texas at Dallas), No. 29 (1989), 2-4.
[6] Jill Lepore, "Historians Who Love Too Much: Reflections on Microhistory and Biography," The Journal of American History, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jun., 2001), pp. 129-144)
[7a] Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American Frontier" Norwegian-American Studies (Norwegian American Historical Association, Vol. 34, 1995), pp. 245-270. Prof. Niemi drew on many sources, pointing to the possibility of future new sources, methods, and materials.
[7b] John Edward Xavier, "Nils Paul and Amanda: Technology Expands The Story of My Sami American Family," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) No. 46, Gidda/Spring, 2007, pp. 1, 4-6.
[7c] John Edward Xavier, "Karl Xavier (1869-1924)," Arran (Sami Siida of North America) no.54-55, 2009-2010, pp. 4-7. This article is followed by his 1919 poem "Til Min Hustru" ["To My Wife"] with background furnished by John Edward Xavier. The above article and this one were both greatly facilitated by technology.
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Appendix
Part One: Biographical Details for Selected Individuals
Note: Individuals mentioned in this part are are not yet listed alphabetically by last name, and will be edited accordingly in the future.
Magdalene X. Visovatti (1897-1988), nee Karen Magdalena Xavier - translator and editor
Magdalene X. Visovatti, editor and translator of the 1982 family publication, Norwegian Poems, was Rev. Xavier's eldest daughter, with his first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier (1864-1904). Ms. Visovatti married Toffil (L.T.) Visovatti in 1927, with whom she had a family of three sons, Laurence, Ramon, and Dirk.
As will be evident in this article and others, Magdalene was a high-energy and vivacious woman. She was a brilliant and creative student, with solid credentials of education: Lutheran Normal School, Sioux Falls, SD, for a brief time; St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, for a BA; and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, for a thesis-based MS. These formal credentials were easily matched by her retention of what she had studied, especially of the Norwegian language and literature, while at St. Olaf College under the tutelage of Prof. Ole E. Rolvaag.
Visovatti published poetry of her own in Norwegian, under her self-chosen name of Magdalene Xavier as (she had never liked her birth name of Karen). Two examples of Magdalen's poetry have been found and are referenced here. I intend to translate these two poems and publish them on this blog sometime before the Xavier Family Reunion 2013. Her poems:
1) "Feernes Dans" ["Fairy Dance"] in Nord-Norge (Nordlands Bygdelag, Spring, 1919); and
2) "Stormens Vaeter" ["Father of Galestorms"] Jul i Vesterheim (1922).Regarding her poetry, Visovatti received attention in a recent (2003) Doctoral thesis by Kristin Ann Risley, as follows, for reference:
Kristin Ann Risley, "Vikings of the Midwst: Place, Culture, and Ethnicity in Norwegian-American Literature, 1870-1940," Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of English, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 2003, p. 99.In her PhD thesis, K. A. Risley speculates that Ms. Visovatti's 1922 poem (for which she was paid $5!) might have been of questionable quality (obviously in the eyes of Risley), but also in the eyes of the inconsistent editor of Jul i Westerheim, Sundheim, but was nonetheless published
because she was an associate of Rolvaag or because the quantity of submissions was lacking, for Sundheim was sensitive to the overall quality of his Christmas annual. On other occasions even he even turned down submissions by leading writers despite a shortage of material....In addition her youthful forays into publishing poetry in Norwegian, Visovatti in later years took on a substantial translation project, in the 1970s to be more precise. Sami-Norwegian writer Adolph Steen had in 1951 composed an essay about her grandfather, Nils Paul Xavier. She translated the piece, circulated copies among family members, and submitted her translation to St. Olaf College, for the archives of the Norwegian-American Historical Association; other copies remain in the hands of various Xavier family members. The article was reprinted in 2007 in the Sami North American newsletter, Arran, as follows, for reference:
Adolph Steen, "Nils Paul Xavier 1839-1918: Kautokeino-samen som ble prest i Amerika" ["The Kautokeino Sami Who Became a Minister in America"]," Magdalene X. Visovatti, Trans. (1974), Samenes Venn (Jul, 1951), pp.10-11. Reprinted in Arran, No. 46 (Gidda/Spring 2007), pp.2-3. Note: Thanks to Arran editor Arden Johnson for his work in editing and reprinting this valuable article.Finally, it is worth noting the multicultural and multilingual home life Magdalene experienced, from her earliest years. In her extended Xavier family context, in addition acquiring her own credentials for translation, Ms. Visovatti was living a multicultural and multlingual life, of households and professions, translation, and publication. Her grandfather, Rev. Nils Paul (N.P.) Xavier; father, Karl Xavier; and uncle, Johan (John) U. Xavier--all Saami-born--actively used several languages in their family and work lives and were active in editorial and publishing work. These three prominent men were role models who lived their education, training, and primary callings as teachers and church ministers in the Norske Lutherske Synode (Norwegian Lutheran Synod, or just "The Synod").
N.P.'s wife, Amanda Magdalena spoke both Norwegian and Sami, but only minimal English. Her uncle Johan was still single at the time Magdalene and brothers Paul and Peter lived with grandparents N.P. and Amanda Xavier for about two years (1904-1906), following the death of their mother, Henrietta, in 1904. Thus Magdalene saw first-hand other families beyond her own immediate household where multicultural and multilingual people were the order of the day. All of the Xavier family households of which Visvatti was aware were well-read in topics outside of church literature.
Saami immigrants to North America experienced this sort of linguistic and cultural affiliation (or "masking" as I have heard it described by Native American author Sherman Alexie). Multilingual life was a necessity, as the Saami were inevitably linked to a Nordic community Norwegian, Swedish, or Finnish) when immigrating to the United States or the Dominion of Canada. For a recent and solid discussion of cultural affiliation, see Ellen Marie Jensen, We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sami Americans (Karasjok, Norway: CalliidLagadus, 2012).
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Rev Karl Xavier (1869-1924):
Born in Lyngen, Norway (Sapmi/Lapland), of Sami Pastor Nils Paul Xavier and Amanda (Norum) Xavier, Karl was a widely respected Pastor, professor, church leader, speaker, scholar, editor, and author. He was educated at Luther College of Decorah, Iowa, Luther Seminary in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota. Karl taught in public and parochial schools, as well as the Lutheran Normal School in Sioux falls, South Dakota. He was a pastor of parishes in Iowa, Nebraska, and to a minor degree in Minnesota. He had ten children with his two wives, Henrietta ("Hennie") Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier (1864-1904) and Bina Christine (Kamrud) Xavier (1880-1931).
He was a prolific writer, in essays, articles, and poetry, almost all of which appeared in the Norwegian language. His primary written legacy now stands as his poetry, particularly as appearing in collection (English translation), Norwegian Poems, Magdalene X. Visovatti, Trans. and Ed. (1983). In order that his poems be shared among extended Xavier family members, English translation was required, as knowledge of Norwegian is not widespread within Xavier family circles. (Expanded versions of some of Ms. Visovatti's work will appear in this blog, with minimal changes to her translation, but with supporting material for reference, context, and interpretation.)
Rev. Karl Xavier, again affirming the profiles of both the Xavier family and Saami American immigrants, had a strong command of several languages. Rev. Xavier was among the most prominent, if not the only, Saami-born poet among writers publishing in the Dano-Norwegian language, in his publishing years (1890-1924). He was for many years engaged in translation for both intellectual and financial reasons, even though he was reasonably well-paid especially from 1910-1919. He had a large family to support and the fees for translation or poetry publication were helpful.
A point of interest about Karl Xavier is that while his body of work was overwhelmingly in the Dano-Norwegian, he was nonetheless completely fluent in English. He was in fact an early leader in introducing English to church activities. As early as 1914 he was instrumental in introducing English to a prominent Lutheran parish, where he was pastor from 1910-1919. See Larry Spomer, Ed., 100th Anniversary History of Immanuel-Zion Parish, Albion Nebraska: 1874-1974. (Albion, NE: I-Z Parish, 1974), pp. 4, 6-12.
An excellent example of Karl Xavier's command of English survives in a 1918 funeral sermon delivered at the memorial service for Oliver Berg. This sermon, the full manuscript of which is both fully intact and rare, will become the subject of a separate article in this blog.
Born in Lyngen, Norway (Sapmi/Lapland), of Sami Pastor Nils Paul Xavier and Amanda (Norum) Xavier, Karl was a widely respected Pastor, professor, church leader, speaker, scholar, editor, and author. He was educated at Luther College of Decorah, Iowa, Luther Seminary in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota. Karl taught in public and parochial schools, as well as the Lutheran Normal School in Sioux falls, South Dakota. He was a pastor of parishes in Iowa, Nebraska, and to a minor degree in Minnesota. He had ten children with his two wives, Henrietta ("Hennie") Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier (1864-1904) and Bina Christine (Kamrud) Xavier (1880-1931).
He was a prolific writer, in essays, articles, and poetry, almost all of which appeared in the Norwegian language. His primary written legacy now stands as his poetry, particularly as appearing in collection (English translation), Norwegian Poems, Magdalene X. Visovatti, Trans. and Ed. (1983). In order that his poems be shared among extended Xavier family members, English translation was required, as knowledge of Norwegian is not widespread within Xavier family circles. (Expanded versions of some of Ms. Visovatti's work will appear in this blog, with minimal changes to her translation, but with supporting material for reference, context, and interpretation.)
Rev. Karl Xavier, again affirming the profiles of both the Xavier family and Saami American immigrants, had a strong command of several languages. Rev. Xavier was among the most prominent, if not the only, Saami-born poet among writers publishing in the Dano-Norwegian language, in his publishing years (1890-1924). He was for many years engaged in translation for both intellectual and financial reasons, even though he was reasonably well-paid especially from 1910-1919. He had a large family to support and the fees for translation or poetry publication were helpful.
A point of interest about Karl Xavier is that while his body of work was overwhelmingly in the Dano-Norwegian, he was nonetheless completely fluent in English. He was in fact an early leader in introducing English to church activities. As early as 1914 he was instrumental in introducing English to a prominent Lutheran parish, where he was pastor from 1910-1919. See Larry Spomer, Ed., 100th Anniversary History of Immanuel-Zion Parish, Albion Nebraska: 1874-1974. (Albion, NE: I-Z Parish, 1974), pp. 4, 6-12.
An excellent example of Karl Xavier's command of English survives in a 1918 funeral sermon delivered at the memorial service for Oliver Berg. This sermon, the full manuscript of which is both fully intact and rare, will become the subject of a separate article in this blog.
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Magdalene's mother, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier, was a daughter of Prof. Laur. Larsen (1833-1915; founding President of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, 1861-1902). Henrietta was born of Laur. Larsen's first wife, and Karen Randine (Neuberg) Larsen (1833-1871).
Karen, Magdalene's grandmother, was of a long line of creative and artistic women of the Randine, or Neuberg, family. Some were professionals in theatre and dance-theatre in Oslo,
fully at home among the worldly communities of the urban "happy
Lutherans," who relished art and creativity. Most notable was
the renowned Randine Christensen [great-grandmother to Magdalene X. Visovatti], who had early in life made her debut as
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Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin (1907-2002)
Valborg (Xavier) Houghtelin was Rev. Xavier's fourth child, his first child with second wife, Bina Christine (Kamrud) Xavier (1880-1931). Bina's parents were Iver and Marit (Hippe) Kamrud, engaged in agriculture near Starbuck, in Pope County, Minnesota. Bina was musically talented, had taught school since an early age, and was educated at Mayville State (North Dakota) Normal School and the Lutheran Normal School at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she met her husband, Karl.
Bina was widely respected for her musical abilities, which were most often expressed in church-related activities. She led various church groups and taught piano. She was also for several years in the major role of choir director of the Omaha Choral Union, during the peak of that movement prior to World War I. While husband Karl served as Secretary of the Omaha Choral Union, in his role as participant in the massive church choir assemblies springing up from the Choral Union movement.
Valborg was a graduate of Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis, and worked for years as a nurse's aide. In 1951, she married Phil Houghtelin (d. 1971), once an English teacher before going blind in his late 30s, and who was a much-respected and successful piano technician. Valborg, who taught piano, and was active in the Lutheran Church, became a widow in 1971, and then in 1980 moved to a nursing home. That act of moving led her to reveal the folder with her father's many manuscripts.
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Author's Notes: Further to the tying together of things Scandinavian: Author-Historian Karen Larsen referenced here was a half-sister of Karl Xavier's first wife, Henrietta. Karen Larsen was borne of Laur. Larsen's second wife, Ingeborg Astrup. Karen was educated at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University. She shared faculty responsibilities with her brother-in-law, Karl Xavier, at the Lutheran Normal School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1908-1910. She had a long and productive career in both teaching and publishing, dedicated for the most part to nearly thirty years on faculty at St. Olaf College.
As if all of this extended family information were not enough to digest, we note that Karen Larsen was also an aunt to Prof. Herman Astrup Larsen (PhD, Yale), long-time professor of history at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, whose years there spanned the author's time at Concordia as both student and instructional staff member.
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End of Part One of Appendix
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one of the two solo dancers at the opening performance of the first public theater in Norway, on January 30, 1827. [Major Oslo newspaper] Morgenbladet mentioned her performance favorably, adding that she received a welldeserved ovation...The oldest of [Randine's] children was Karen Randine [Neuberg]...There was an artistic strain to her, doubtless inherited from her mother....(Karen Larsen, Laur. Larsen, p. 32)Karen Randine (Neuberg) Larsen was, according to historian Karen Larsen, in the Randine tradition: women who, while dying young, "added to the richness of life in their little circle, through their sesitivity, love of beauty, nimble minds and warmth of feeling." (Karen Larsen, "Karen Neuberg Larsen...", p. 8.
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Valborg Henrietta (Xavier) Houghtelin (1907-2002)
Valborg (Xavier) Houghtelin was Rev. Xavier's fourth child, his first child with second wife, Bina Christine (Kamrud) Xavier (1880-1931). Bina's parents were Iver and Marit (Hippe) Kamrud, engaged in agriculture near Starbuck, in Pope County, Minnesota. Bina was musically talented, had taught school since an early age, and was educated at Mayville State (North Dakota) Normal School and the Lutheran Normal School at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she met her husband, Karl.
Bina was widely respected for her musical abilities, which were most often expressed in church-related activities. She led various church groups and taught piano. She was also for several years in the major role of choir director of the Omaha Choral Union, during the peak of that movement prior to World War I. While husband Karl served as Secretary of the Omaha Choral Union, in his role as participant in the massive church choir assemblies springing up from the Choral Union movement.
Valborg was a graduate of Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis, and worked for years as a nurse's aide. In 1951, she married Phil Houghtelin (d. 1971), once an English teacher before going blind in his late 30s, and who was a much-respected and successful piano technician. Valborg, who taught piano, and was active in the Lutheran Church, became a widow in 1971, and then in 1980 moved to a nursing home. That act of moving led her to reveal the folder with her father's many manuscripts.
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Author's Notes: Further to the tying together of things Scandinavian: Author-Historian Karen Larsen referenced here was a half-sister of Karl Xavier's first wife, Henrietta. Karen Larsen was borne of Laur. Larsen's second wife, Ingeborg Astrup. Karen was educated at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University. She shared faculty responsibilities with her brother-in-law, Karl Xavier, at the Lutheran Normal School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1908-1910. She had a long and productive career in both teaching and publishing, dedicated for the most part to nearly thirty years on faculty at St. Olaf College.
As if all of this extended family information were not enough to digest, we note that Karen Larsen was also an aunt to Prof. Herman Astrup Larsen (PhD, Yale), long-time professor of history at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, whose years there spanned the author's time at Concordia as both student and instructional staff member.
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Reference sources for this section:
Board of Regents, Concordia Corporation, Concordia College Record [College Catalogue] (Moorhead, MN: Concordia College, 1968). Noted in the faculty directory: Herman Astrup Larsen, PhD, Yale (History); John E. Xavier, BA, Concordia; [Certificat, Universite de Grenoble].
Ellen Marie Jensen, We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sami Americans (Karasjok, Norway: CalliidLagadus, 2012).
Sivert Anton Jordahl, Memorial History: Lutheran Normal School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 1889-1918 (Moorhead, MN: Brown and Saenger, 1954), various pages.
Karen Larsen, Laur. Larsen: Pioneer College President (Northfield,
MN: Norwegian American Historical Association, 1936), pp. 277, 284,
335; Index refs., p. 355. Karen Larsen's book, one of the monuments in
the written record of the Norwegian American experience, contains a
wealth of history, on levels of both family microhistory and large-scale
immigrant history.
Karen Larsen, "Karen Neuberg Larsen and Her Family," Unpublished typescript (photocopy), Northfield, Minnesota, 1957. This typescript came to the author via the estates of Magdalene X. Visovatti and Karl Astrup Norum Xavier. Larsen writes eloquently and movingly about the role played by Karen Neuberg Larsen in the long history of the families of Prof. Laur. Larsen.
Karen Larsen, "Karen Neuberg Larsen and Her Family," Unpublished typescript (photocopy), Northfield, Minnesota, 1957. This typescript came to the author via the estates of Magdalene X. Visovatti and Karl Astrup Norum Xavier. Larsen writes eloquently and movingly about the role played by Karen Neuberg Larsen in the long history of the families of Prof. Laur. Larsen.
Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar 1824-1924: A Who's Who among Teachers in the Norwegian Lutheran Synods of America (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1924), pp. 369; 403-404; 794.
Kristin Ringdahl, Ed. The Diaries of J.U. Xavier (Tacoma, WA: Pacific Lutheran University Archives, 2004), pp. 1-10.
Kristin Ann Risley, "Vikings of the Midwst: Place, Culture, and Ethnicity in Norwegian-American Literature, 1870-1940," Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of English, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 2003. p 99.
Kristin Ann Risley, "Vikings of the Midwst: Place, Culture, and Ethnicity in Norwegian-American Literature, 1870-1940," Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of English, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 2003. p 99.
Erling Nicolai Rolfsrud, Cobber Chronicle: An Informal History of Concordia College
(Moorhead, MN: Concordia College, 1976), several pages, including
faculty listings for Herman Astrup Larsen (History) and John E. Xavier
(Modern Languages).
Adolph Steen, "Nils Paul Xavier 1839-1918: Kautokeino-samen som ble prest i Amerika" ["The Kautokeino Sami Who Became a Minister in America"]," Magdalene X. Visovatti, Trans. (1974), Samenes Venn (Jul, 1951), pp.10-11. Reprinted in Arran, No. 46 (Gidda/Spring 2007), pp.2-3. Note: Thanks to Arran editor emeritus Arden Johnson for his work in editing and reprinting this valuable article.
Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, Magdalene X. Visovatti, Ed. and Trans. (Albert Lea, MN: Valdemar U.A.H. Xavier, 1982), p.1.
Rev. Karl Xavier, Norwegian Poems, Magdalene X. Visovatti, Ed. and Trans. (Albert Lea, MN: Valdemar U.A.H. Xavier, 1982), p.1.
Johan Ulrik Xavier, List of Descendants of Nils Paul and Amanda Xavier (Parkland, WA: J.U. Xavier, 1960, pp. 1, 5-6.
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Part Two: Selected Publications by Karl Xavier (1869-1924)
Sources for Part Two are drawn from both traditional book references, and from digital sites. These are, first, in the traditional book form: Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar 1824-1924: A Who's Who among Teachers in the Norwegian Lutheran Synods of America. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1924, p. .
Then, from digital sites, there are: Luther College, Decorah, Iowa; Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota; and St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.
1. Books as Author
Tre Pastoral Aflinghandler. Decorah, IA: Forfaterns Forlag, 1913. Theological and practical essays for churches and pastors. In Dano-Norwegian.
Pastoral Tidmaessig Praiken. Decorah, IA: Forfaterns Forlag, 1919. Theological and practical essays for churches and pastors. In Dano-Norwegian.
Norwegian Poems. Magdalene X. Visovatti, Trans. and Ed. Albert Lea, MN: Valdemar.U.A.H. Xavier, 1982. Posthumous published, as translated and collected works, in Dano-Norwegian manuscript reproduction with English translation on facing pages.
2. Books in Translation
G.W. Lose. Opfyldte lofter: fortaelling for ungdommen [Ressurection: a story for children], Karl Xavier, Transl. (Trans. from Swedish to Dano-Norwegian). Decorah, Iowa: Lutheran Pub. House, 1913.
Margareta Lenk, I det lille banevogterhus [In the Little Courthouse], 1913. Karl Xavier, Transl. (Trans. from German to Dano-Norwegian). Decorah, Iowa: Lutheran Publishing House, 1916(?). Ms. Lenk (1841-1917) was somewhat prominent as a writer of children's religious books and stories.
At least 6 other short books, (chapbook-like) of Margareta Lenk. List to be developed.
3. Articles
"Nils Paul Xavier: en skisse" ["Nils Paul Xavier: A Life Sketch"], Nord-Norge, No. 12 (Northfield, MN, by Nordlandslaget), December 1918, pp. 12-17. This combined biography and eulogy is in Dano-Norwegian, with a wealth of information. Immediately following is Xavier's unsigned poem, "Nils Paul Xavier In Memorium), Ibid., p. 18. The poem, to the memory of N.P. Xavier, also appears in Norwegian Poems.
"Hans Jorgen Synnestvedt Astrup," Nord-Norge, No. 20 (Northfield, MN, by Nordlandslaget), December 1920, pp. 5-6. This is a profile of Rev. Hans Astrup, who for a time succeeded his deceased brother, Rev. Nils Astrup, as bishop of the South African mission field (also known as the Schreuder Mission). That mission was based on Norwegian state church outriach, for the Zulu peoples. Hans Astrup was a brother-in-law to Prof. Laur. Larsen of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. Prof. Larsen himself was father-in-law to Karl Xavier, as father of his first wife, Henrietta Randine Elizabeth (Larsen) Xavier. The Schreuder Mission was more or less an Astrup family-run mission for several decades. Hans J.S. Astrup developed several books, of bilingual format, in Dano-Norwegian and Zulu. Once more, it is evident how Norwegian Americans were closely linked.
4. Poetry
Note: Karl Xavier's poetry was published in a number of magazines and journals. Those publications are known currently for their general lack of digitization and indexing by author, making it more or less impossible to retrieve all of his poems from those sources. Magdalene X. Visovatti, translator and editor of Norwegian Poems, inventoried some of the publications in her introductory remarks:
Most of these poems [in Norwegian Poems] have been printed in various papers and magazines, for example: Luthersk Kirketidende, Pacific Herold, Bornebald, Lutheraneren, Skoleblad, Chips, Amerika, Undommens Ven, Familiens, Magasin, Vor Tid and Nord-Norge.Three of Karl Xavier's poems appearing in Norwegian Poems, appeared in an early 1900s massive anthology: Norsk-amerikanske digte i udvalg [Norwegian-American Poetry, a Collection], Ludvig Lima, MD, Editor. Minneapolis, MN: Undommens Ven Publishing Co., 1903. Those three poems were probably published elsewhere earlier than 1903, as Visovatti gives credence to the earlier dates inscribed on her father's manuscripts. The poems are listed here, with manuscript dates from Norwegian Poems:
- "Poesien" ["Poetry"], 1890.
- "Fjortende oktober: En hilsin til Luther College" ["Fourteenth of October: A greeting to Luther College"] , 1902.
- "Vaarstemning" [Spring Dreams], 1898.
End of Part Two of the Appendix
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