Andersen, Hans Christian

Hans Christian Andersen was born into poverty in Odense on Funen in 1805. As a child, he would listen to his father reading 1001 Arabian Nights, Holberg's comedies and other tales that sowed the seeds of Andersen's own enthusiasm for the theatre and the fairy tale. Aged just 14, Andersen set out for Copenhagen, where he hoped to make his fortune. He passed his university entrance exam in 1828, and his first exam in philologicum et philosophicum a year later. He began publishing stories, plays, poems and travelogues. In 1835, his first collection of fairy tales and his first novel, "The Improviser", were published. Andersen embarked upon his first trip abroad in 1831. The influence of his subsequent travels, as well as of his childhood memories and life are redolent throughout his work. From 1838, a state stipend endowed him with financial security and allowed him to devote himself to his art. Around this time, his fairy tales were attracting more and more interest, both at home and abroad. At first, Andersen's writing style, particularly in the early fairy tales (including "The Little Mermaid"), was epitomised by a certain naivety and a "child-like" quality. From the 1850s onwards, his work was increasingly epitomised by psychological realism. Andersen died in Copenhagen in 1875 following a bout of illness.

Jensen, Carsten

Carsten Jensen was born 24 July, 1952, in Marstal on the Danish island of Ærø in the Baltic Sea. He is internationally successful Danish writer of fiction, an essayist, political columnist and literary critic. He holds an MA in Literature from the University of Copenhagen (1981) and was an adjunct professor in Cultural Analysis at the Faculty of Humanities at University of Southern Denmark 2001-2006.

Carsten Jensen has worked as a critic for several Danish newspapers, including Information, Det Fri Aktuelt, Ekstra Bladet, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, Politiken and Berlingske Tidende. From 1985-90 he served as editor of the literary magazine Fredag.

Prizes:
PH-prisen 1987
Brandes-prisen 1993
Det danske Akademis Otto Gelsted-pris 1997
Boghandlernes gyldne Laurbær 1997   (for I have Seen the World Begin)
Holberg-Medaillen 1999
Danske Banks Litteraturpris 2007 (for We, the Drowned)
P2s Romanpris 2007 (for We, the Drowned)
The Olof Palme Prize 2010

Vangsgaard, Henning

Born in Copenhagen in 1947, where he studied literature, German studies and philosophy, Vangsgaard has been working as a freelance translator and publisher since 1974. He translated mainly philosophical and scientific writings from German (Schelling, George Simmel, Ernst Bloch, Hans Jonas, Jürgen Habermas, Ulrich Beck, Günther Anders), lyric poetry (Friedrich Rückert, Georg Heym, Sarah Kirsch, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Manfred Peter Hein) and in collaboration with Peter Urban-Halle also poetry from Danish into German (including Per Højholt, Thorkild Bjørnvig and Ole Sarvig).

At the end of 2000 he published his translation of Victor Klemperer's Tagebücher 1933-1945, I Want to Bear Witness. In 1999 he received the honorary award of the Danish Translators' Association, the vice-chairman of which he was between 1984 and 1992.

Henning Vangsgaard died in Copenhagen on 30 January, 2018.

 

Tønnesen, Pernille

Born in Copenhagen in 1956. Pernille Tønnesen studied Literature at University of Copenhagen. As a novelist she published Vineta – byen fra havet, Gyldendal 1974, Esther – en rejsebog, Gyldendal 1979, Tilnærmelser, Rosinante 1994 and Dagenes rusken, Rosinante 2002. She has tranlated Zoë Jenny's novel Das Blütenstaubzimmer, Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt 1997, into Danish (Blomsterstøvsværelset, Rosinante 1999. Has been a teacher of creative writing in Copenhagen since 1997.

Pedersen, Asger

Born in 1934, Asger Pedersen has been educated at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory as an oboist, organist and conductor. Until 2004 he was organist at the cathedral of Viborg, Denmark.

Pedersen has published three collections of poetry and translated music works of all kind to Danish, from Hindemith's „Mathis der Maler“ to „45 Songy by Georges Brassens“.

Together with Thomas Bullinger he translated Johannes Bobrowski and revised the Danish translation of Joseph Brodsky's "Guide to a renamed City" in "Piter. En bog om St. Petersborg", 2016.

Bullinger, Thomas

Born in 1944, Thomas Bullinger is an art historian and museum director in Viborg, Denmark. He studied in Frankfurt, Freiburg and Zurich.

Together with Asger Pedersen he translated Peter Seeberg, Johannes Bobrowski and Joseph Brodsky, whose "Guide to a renamed City" was published in Denmark in 2016 under the title "Piter. En bog om St. Petersborg".