As a young refugee Brekke became familiar with modern
Swedish poetry. He returned to Norway in 1945, and issued the collection
Jeg gikk så lange veier (1945). The novel
På flukt (1946) is describing a failed attempt to reach England during the war. Later collections are
Skyggefektning (1949), and
Løft min krone, vind fra intet (1957). Brekke's contributions to modernist poetry in the 1960s are the collection
Det skjeve smil i rosa (1965), poetry combined with political sarcasm, and
Granatmannen kommer (poems and other texts, 1968). In the 1970s he issued
Aftenen er stille (1972), for which he received the critics prize,
Syng, ugle (1978), and
Flimmer. Og strek (1980). Late in his life he released the two collections
Men barnet i meg spør (1992) and
Ostinato (1994, posthumous). Brekke was soon noticed for his orientation towards modern European poetry, both as poet and critic. He asked for a renewal of Norwegian poetry, and spread knowledge of foreign literature through translations of
English modernist writers like
T.S.Eliot, and also Indian and Japanese poetry. In the mid 1950s Brekke participated in the debate on lyrical form, and opposed
André Bjerke and
Arnulf Øverland in the so-called
Glossolalia debate. The travel book
En munnfull av Ganges (1962) is written after a visit to India in 1960, where Brekke was faced with poverty and hunger in the
third world, and became aware of the underlying conflicts between rich and poor nations. ==Selected works==