Peter Hoeg
Peter Høeg (born 17 May 1957) published his first novel, A History of Danish Dreams, in 1988 to very positive reviews. In the years that followed he wrote and published the short story collection Tales of Night, and four novels; Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (1992), Borderliners (1993), The Woman and the Ape (1996), and The Quiet Girl (2006). It was Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow that earned Høeg immediate and international literary celebrity. His books are published in Denmark by Munksgaard/Rosinante, now a part of Blackwell Publishing, and have also been published in more than 30 other countries.
Høeg has a reputation for being hard to place in terms of literary style. All his works are stylistically very different from one another, and have been labelled post-modern, gothic, magical -realist, to mention a few. There is a red thread to be found, however, in terms of theme; Høeg's work often seems to deal with the consequences of the progress of civilization.
Villy Sørensen
Villy Sørensen (13 January 1929 – 16 December 2001) was a Danish short-story writer, philosopher and literary critic of the Modernist tradition. His fiction was heavily influenced by his philosophical ideas, and he has been compared to Franz Kafka in this regard. He is the most influential and important Danish philosopher since Søren Kierkegaard.
Born in Copenhagen, Sørensen graduated from the Vestre Borgerdydskole in 1947, and then attended the University of Copenhagen and the University of Freiburg studying philosophy. Although he did not graduate, he later received an honorary degree from the University of Copenhagen.
Sørensen published his first collection of short stories, Strange Stories in 1953, which many critics have identified as being the start of Danish literary Modernism. He published additional collections of short stories in 1955 and 1964, all winning various awards in Denmark. These stories generally explored the absurd and hidden parts of the human psyche.
Sørensen began editing the journal Vindrosen (with Klaus Rifbjerg) in 1959. Afterward, he became a member of the Danish Academy in 1965, subsequently editing several other Modernist journals and periodicals. Sørensen, though he continued to produce short fiction throughout his life, was also deeply engaged in philosophy, about which he wrote many essays and several books including Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero and his response to Søren Kierkegaard's Either/Or, Hverken-eller (i.e. "Neither/Nor"). He also published books and essays about Nietzsche, Kafka, Marx, Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard, and was a notable translator of over 20 books. He was awarded The Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1974, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1983, along with many other awards and recognitions. He died in Copenhagen in 2001.
Naja Marie Aidt
Naja Marie Aidt (born December 24, 1963) is a Danish poet and writer.
She was born in Egedesminde, Greenland, and was brought up partly in Greenland and partly in the Vesterbro area of Copenhagen. In 1991 she published her first book of poetry, Så længe jeg er ung (While I'm Still Young). Since 1993 she has been a full-time writer. In 1994 Naja Marie Aidt was awarded the Danish Fund for the Endowment of the Arts 3-year bursary. Her poems often circle around the themes love, family and children.
Aidt won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2008, for her short stories collection Bavian (Baboon, 2006). Bavian also earned her the Danish Kritikerprisen （Critic’s Award）for 2006.
Carsten Jensen
Carsten Jensen (1952 -) is a Danish writer and a figure in Dansih social debate. Before he started his writing career he was both a war correspondent and a regular writer for the Danish newspaper Politiken.Through this job he was reckognized for his merciless critics and reviews of literature. He got his literary breakthrough in 1996 and 1997 with the books «Jeg har set verden begynde» (I have seen the world begin) and «Jeg har hørt et stjerneskud».(I have heard a shooting star)
He has received several awards and in 1999 he was nominated for the Nordic Council’s Literary Award.
Per Højholt
(22. juli 1928 - 15. oktober 2004) was an influential Danish author and lived most of his life in Hørbylunde near Silkeborg.
His literary debut came as he as a 20 year old published a series of poems in the literary nwesletter Heretica. The year later he published the poetry book Hesten og Solen (The Horse and the Sun) which can be said to be strongly inspired by his work in Heretica. He writings developed into a more modernistic style represented by Poetens Hoved (The Mind of the Poet) in 1963, followed by Provinser (Provinces) in 1964, Show in 1966 and Min hånd 66 (My Hand 66) in 1966. His major breakthrough came with the book Gittes monologer (Gitte’s monologues). He is also known for his Praksis (Practice) series and the novels 6512 in 1969, Auricula in 2003.
His poetry book Turbo was recorded as some of the earliest Danish electronic music in 1968 ans stands as a monument in this genre. He has won The Danish Academy’s Grand Price (1982), The Mother Tounge Price (1991), The Critic’s Award (1995) The Holberg Medallion (1997) and The Stately Art Fund’s life-long achievement award.
