Birgithe Kosovic (born 22 March 1972) is a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
journalist and author who has received several awards for her novel ''Det dobbelte land'' (literally The Doubled Country, 2010) based on her family's background in the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.
["Birgithe Kosovic"]
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 22 March 1972.
Biography
Born in
Albertslund Albertslund is a Copenhagen suburb in Albertslund Municipality, Denmark. It is located west of central Copenhagen, with a population of around 30,000.
Albertslund is a planned community or new town mainly built in the 1960s and 1970s. The subu ...
, Kosovic was brought up by her Serbian father and Danish mother. She decided to become an author after taking part in a writing competition in her early years at primary school. While studying Danish at
Copenhagen University
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...
, she worked as a feature journalist for the Danish newspaper ''
Information
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...
'' and the Norwegian ''
Morgenbladet
''Morgenbladet'' is a Norwegian weekly, newspaper, covering politics, culture and science.
History
''Morgenbladet'' was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg. The paper is the country's first daily newspaper; however, Adresseavi ...
''. Her debut as a novelist was in 1997 with ''Legenden om Villa Valmarena'' (The Legend of Villa Valmarena) about a female dwarf at the beginning of the 19th century. It was followed in 1999 by ''Om natten i Jerusalem'' (Nighttime in Jerusalem) inspired by
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...
's exotic life and writings.
["Birgithe Kosovic"]
, Forfatterweb. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
''Det dobbelte land''
Her most successful work has been ''Det dobbelte land'' (The Doubled Country) for which she has received several awards and grants including Weekendavisen
''Weekendavisen'' (meaning ''The Weekend Newspaper'' in English) is a Danish weekly broadsheet newspaper published on Fridays in Denmark. Its circulation (as of 2007) is approximately 60,000 copies, about ten per cent of which cover subscription ...
's Literature Prize (1910), Danmarks Radio
DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterp ...
's Novel Prize (2011) and Danske Bank
Danske Bank A/S is a Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation. Headquartered in Copenhagen, it is the largest bank in Denmark and a major retail bank in the northern European region with over 5 million retail customers. ...
's Literature Prize (2011).[ Basing her story on authentic characters, some from her own Serbian family, she tells the story of how in the mountains of ]Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, Milovan receives a letter informing him that his wife has died. This leads to a review of his past life. Twenty years earlier, he had given up his post as party secretary, deceived his wife with his best friend's pregnant wife and refused to use his influence to prevent the imprisonment of his own son. Now, in the early 1990s, he is surrounded by Croatian nationalists who are trying to rid themselves of Serbs like Milovan himself. The novel develops into a tale of guilt and shame, bringing us face to face with what lies behind the facade of the toughest men of the times.[ The reader is led to wonder why Milovan has become so cynical and why he deserted his wife. It also encourages reflection on the wider implications of the Yugoslavian clashes.
Translated into Serbian as ''Dvostruka zemlja'', the book was presented to Serbian readers at the 2011 Belgrade Book Fair. Kosovic explained that she had been attracted to the art of story-telling from an early age as her father used to tell her stories of Yugoslovia, always full of lively characters experiencing both good and evil."''Dvostruka zemlja'' Birgite Kosović nagrađena u Danskoj"]
BizLife. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosovic, Birgithe
Danish women novelists
Danish women journalists
Danish people of Serbian descent
1972 births
Living people
20th-century Danish journalists
21st-century Danish journalists
People from Albertslund Municipality