Narvesen made his literary debut in 1975, with the poetry collection Steppene,[1] where he asks questions such as "What age am I from / where am I going / which star is my next beginning?"[3] Further collections are Ararat (1976),[1]Til Vannmannens terskel (1977), and Smil, Sinbad! (1979), reporting from his travels to places like Switzerland, Caucasus and Crete.[3] His collections from the 1980s include Gjenkomst i mai (1982), Ved bredden (1985), and Favntak (1990).[1]
His collection Blomsterelskeren og andre gjendiktninger fra amerikansk og engelsk poesi from 1981 is a collection of translated American and English poetry. He issued a translation of poetry by Walt Whitman into Norwegian language in 1984 (titled Tilegnet den usynlige verden), in collaboration with Håvard Rem.[1]
