Carsten Jensen (born 24 July 1952,

Marstal Marstal () is a town in southern Denmark, located in Ærø Municipality on the island of Ærø. Marstal has a population of 2,120 (1 January 2022)Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

) is a Danish author and political columnist. He first earned recognition as a literary critic for the Copenhagen daily, ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been independe ...

.'' His novels, including ''I Have Seen the World Begin'' (1996), deal with knowledge of the world. For this novel he won the Danish booksellers award

De Gyldne Laurbær De Gyldne Laurbær (English: The Golden Laurel) (earlier: Boghandlernes Gyldne Laurbær) is a Danish literature award, which was established in 1949. The award is handed by ''The Committee De Gyldne Laurbær'', formerly ''Boghandlerklubben'' (The ...

(The Golden Laurel) in 1996. The year 2006 saw the publication of his novel ''Vi, de druknede'' (''We, the Drowned''), a chronicle about the birth of modern Denmark, seen through the history of his hometown Marstal. In 2009, he was awarded the

Olof Palme Prize The Olof Palme Prize is an annual Swedish prize awarded for an outstanding achievement in the spirit of Olof Palme. The Prize consists of a diploma and 100,000 US dollars. The prize was established in February 1987 and is awarded by the Olof Palm ...

. In 2012 he was awarded the

Søren Gyldendal Prize The Søren Gyldendal Prize (Danish: ''Søren Gyldendal-Prisen'') is a Danish literary award, which was established in 1958 by Gyldendal Publishing House. The prize is awarded annually on 12 April, the anniversary of the birthday of Søren Gyldend ...

.Litteraturpriser.dk
/ref> In 2015, ''Den første sten'' (''The First Stone'') appeared, a monumental novel about the experiences of a group of Danish soldiers who have volunteered for service in Afghanistan. Through their eyes, we are presented with a wide and disturbing panorama of the war in Afghanistan. As of March 2018, the novel has been translated into German, ''Der erste Stein,'' as well as into Norwegian and Swedish. The English translation was released on 1 September 2019.

Bibliography

* ''Salg, klasse og død'' (1975) * ''Sjælen sidder i øjet'' (1985) * ''På en mørkeræd klode'' (1986) * ''Souveniers fra 80'erne'' (1988) * ''Kannibalernes nadver'' (1988) * ''Jorden i munden'' (1991) * ''Af en astmatisk kritikers bekendelser'' (1992) * ''Forsømmelsernes bog'' (1993) * ''Jeg har set verden begynde'' (1996) * ''Jeg har hørt et stjerneskud'' (1997) * ''År to & tre'' (1999) * ''Oprøret mod tyngdeloven'' (2001) * ''Jorden rundt'' (2003) * ''Livet i Camp Eden'' (2004) * ''Det glemte folk – en rejse i Burmas grænseland'' (2004) * ''Vi, de druknede'' (2006) * ''Sidste rejse'' (2007) * ''Vi sejlede bare – virkeligheden bag Vi, de druknede'' (2009) * ''Ud'' (2010) * ''Den første sten'' (2015) * ''Krigen der aldrig ender.'' News stories from Afghanistan. Co-author: Anders Hammer. (Gyldendal 2016) * ''Kældermennesker.'' (Politikens Forlag 2018)

References

External links

Official website
(English version).
Carsten Jensen talks about his epic book
''We, the Drowned (Vi,de Druknede)'' in an audio slideshow o
The Interview Online
(In English).

1952 births Living people People from Ærø Municipality Danish people of Romani descent Danish male writers Olof Palme Prize laureates Politiken writers {{Denmark-writer-stub