Hulda Dagny Lütken (1896–1946) was a Danish poet and novelist. The underlying theme in her nine poetry collections and five novels is the conflict between desire and moral purity. Her first novel, ''Degnens Hus'' (The Deacon's House, 1929), is based on her own experience of two very different parents. Initially writing rather traditional rhyming verse, ''Drømmen'' (The Dream), published in 1940, was the first of more

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

works. In 1943, with her memoir ''Mennesket paa Lerfødder'' (A Person with Feet of Clay) she embarked on a period of self-reflection questioning her

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

Early life

Born on 5 October 1896 in

Elling ''Elling'' is a Norwegian Black comedy film directed by Petter Næss. Shot mostly in and around the Norwegian capital Oslo, the film, which was released in 2001, is primarily based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen's novel ''Brødre i blodet'' ("Blood brot ...

near

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The town h ...

in the far north of

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, Hulda Dagny Lütken was the daughter of the schoolmaster Jens Peter Lütken (1859–1919) and his wife Anna Nielsine Martine née Nielsen (1869–1955). In December 1917, she married the plumber Jens Kristian Jensen (born 1897). The marriage was dissolved in 1923. Educated in her father's school, after a short period as a housemaid she returned home and helped her father to run the school. Her mother, who stemmed from a Romany family, encouraged her to become interested in poetry. She married in 1917 but the marriage was not a success and her only child Poul remained with his father. While still a child, Lütken's poems had been published in local newspapers. In the 1920s, she decided to move to Copenhagen to develop her writing. She made contact with the poet

Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...

and his Valby-Parnas associates but was unable to make a living from her writing and worked as a housekeeper.

Career as a writer

Published in 1927, Lütken's first collection of poems, ''Lys og Skygge'' (Light and Shade), was inspired by the traditions of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

but with her novel ''Degnens Hus'' (1929) she turned to

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

, describing her own experience of her two very different parents. Her psychological approach is more evident in ''Lokesæd'' (Loke Seed, 1931) and ''De uansvarlige'' (The Irresponsible, 1933), the latter presenting violent scenes backed by the intense feelings of those involved. Her collections of poetry, ''Sjælens Have'' (The Garden of the Soul, 1931), ''Lænken'' (The Chain, 1932), and ''Elskovs Rose'' (Rose of Love, 1934), reveal the poet's search for her identity. They increasingly move from traditional rhyming verse to more experimental works with ''Drømmen'' (1940) and ''Klode i Drift'' (Globe at Work, 1941). Her biographical novel ''Mennesket paa Lerfødder'' (1943) reveals her reflections on gender identity as she wonders "Maybe I am a woman with a man's soul." Her last novel, ''Saa er jeg fri'' (Then I'll Be Free, 1945), in which the narrator is a man, presents her feelings of masculinity. Hulda Dagny Lütken died in Elling on 9 July 1946 and was buried in Elling Churchyard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutken, Hulda 1896 births 1946 deaths People from Frederikshavn Municipality 20th-century Danish novelists 20th-century Danish poets Danish women poets Danish women novelists 20th-century Danish women writers