Carl Jóhan Jensen (2 December 1957) is a Faroese writer, poet and literary critic. His books have five times been nominated for the

Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

in 1991, 1998, 2007, 2008 and 2016. In 1989 and 2006 he received the M. A. Jacobsen's Cultural Prize from Tórshavn City Council

Biography

Jensen was born and grew up in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

and moved to Denmark in 1973 to attend a Danish gymnasium (a preparatory high school). Having graduated, he moved back to the Faroe Islands in 1976, where he worked in various jobs, i.e. as a journalist. From 1979 to 1981 he studied the Faroese language at the Faroese University in Tórshavn, and from 1981 to 1987 studied Icelandic in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

. In 1990 he graduated cand.phil. in Faroese. He and his Australian wife Kate Sanderson have two sons. They live in Tórshavn, though with a period spent abroad, when Sanderson, having worked for the Faroese government as a special advisor for several years, was sent in 2012 for a three-year term as Faroese ambassador to the EU, based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Jensen accompanied her.

Bibliography

Jensen published his first poems in 1977. He has also published novels and essays, and has translated various texts into Faroese, i.e.

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, Ayckbourn,

Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...

Einar Kárason Einar Kárason (born 24 November 1955 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Euro ...

. His work has appeared in literary journals and anthologies in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and the United States. In October 2011 he was one of ten Faroese writers invited to participate at the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...

. it was the first time the Faroe Islands had been invited, and they participated together with

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. the guest of honour for that year. Carl Jóhan Jensen's novel ''Ó – Søgur um djevulsskap'' was one of the ten books chosen. In 2013 one of his poems represented the Faroe Islands in the EU literary event Transpoesie 2013. The poem was ''Tú'' (You) and is also available in French and Dutch translation. Jensen was president of the Association of Writers of the Faroe Islands (Rithøvundafelag Føroya) 1991–92 and 2004–2006.

Novels

* 1979: ''Seinnapartur'' (Afternoon) * 1995: ''Rúm'' (Room) * 2005: ''Ó – Søgur um djevulskap'', (no official title in English, working title: Un-, Tales of Devilry), Sprotin, 786 pp., * * 2010: ''U-, historier om djevelskap''. Det Norske Samlaget. Translated into Norwegian by Lars Moa. * 2014: ''Eg síggi teg betur í myrkri'' (I see thee better – in the dark)

Poetry

* 1977: ''Yrkingar'' * 1982: ''Skríggj'', Mentunargrunnur studentafelagsins. * 1984: ''Messa á kvøldi og fram undir morgun'', Mentunargrunnur studentafelagsins. * 1990: ''Hvørkiskyn'', Mentunargrunnar Studentafelagsins * 1997: ''Tímar og rek'', Mentunargrunnur studentafelagsins. * 2006: ''September í bjørkum sum kanska eru bláar'' (audiobook) * Contributed to the first ever Faroese/German anthology “From

Janus Djurhuus Jens Hendrik Oliver Djurhuus, called Janus Djurhuus, (26 February 1881, Tórshavn – 1 September 1948, Tórshavn) was the first modern Faroese poet. He and his younger brother Hans Andreas Djurhuus, also a poet, are called the ''Áarstova'' ...

to Tóroddur Poulsen – Faroese Poetry during 100 Years”, academic advice:

Turið Sigurðardóttir Turið Sigurðardóttir (born 12 August 1946) is a Faroese educator, writer and translator, specializing in the history of Faroese literature. She lives in Tórshavn and teaches at the University of the Faroe Islands. Biography Born in Copenhagen, ...

, lineartranslation: Inga Meincke (2007), edited by

Paul Alfred Kleinert Paul Alfred Kleinert is a German writer, editor and translator. Kleinert was born in Leipzig in 1960 with family roots in Silesia and Danzig. He studied theology and did theological and celtic studies in East Berlin at Humboldt Universität zu ...

Essays

* 2000: ''Mentir og mentaskapur''

Awards, nominations etc.

* 1989: Received the M. A. Jacobsen's Cultural Prize from Tórshavn City Council * 1991: Nominated for the

* 1998: Nominated for the

* 2006: Received the M. A. Jacobsen's Cultural Prize * 2007: Nominated for the

for his novel ''Ó – Søgur um djevulsskap'' * 2008: Nominated for the

for ''September í bjørkum sum kanska eru bláar'' * 2011: One year grant from the Mentanargrunnur Landsins (Faroese Cultural Fund) * 2015: Received the Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens * 2016: Nominated for the

for ''Eg síggi teg betri í myrkri''kvf.fo - Hann kann fáa bókmentavirðislønina 2016
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Carl Johan 1957 births 20th-century Danish male writers 20th-century Faroese poets 21st-century Danish male writers 21st-century Faroese poets Faroese male novelists Faroese male poets Faroese-language poets Living people People from Tórshavn Faroese writers