He made his literary debut in 1966 with two books, the poetry collection Kollisjon and a collection of short stories, Vind, and received Tarjei Vesaas" debutantpris for these two books He has written biographies on Arne Garborg, Hulda Garborg, Alexander Kielland and Einar Førde. He hails from Hå.
He was a member of the so-called Profil generation in 1968, the circle attached to the literary magazine Profil.