Stig Dalager (born 1952) 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 a ...

writer. He is the author of 65 literary works of all kinds, mostly

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s and plays, of which several have been translated or staged internationally. His works include '' I Count the Hours'', a

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

for a woman in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

(1993), staged in 12 countries; ''The Dream'', play (premiered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

1999 starring

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

actress

Bibi Andersson Berit Elisabet Andersson (11 November 1935 – 14 April 2019), known professionally as Bibi Andersson (), was a Swedish actress who was best known for her frequent collaborations with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Early life and career Anders ...

, since staged in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

); ''Two Days in July'' (a 2004 novel about the German officers' rebellion against the Nazi regime on July 20, 1944), ''Journey in Blue''; a

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fiction ...

about

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

(published in 15 countries and languages and nominated for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

2008); ''The Labyrinth'' (a 2006 novel situated in Vienna anno 1993-1994) "Land of shadows" (a 2007 novel situated in New York on

9-11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

on the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

); and "Slowly Comes the Light" (a 2009 novel, situated in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, New York and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

2004-2005). In 2012 the novel "The blue light" about Marie Curie was published and in 2013 "Eternity of the Moment", a novel about Søren Kierkegaard. 2015 his novel about Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg "Journey without End" was published and in 2017 his novel "Woman in a Century" about Elisabeth of Bohemia and his tale "The last days of the Rabby", also there was a worldpremiere of his play "Journey in light and Shadow" in New York. Latest novel (2020) is "Chaos and the World (Kaos og verden" about Trumps America and AI. All in all published and staged in 34 countries, among them Great Britain, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Russia, China and Japan.

Biography

Dalager was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in the post-war period of the 1950s, a time of painful remembrances of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, continued economic restrictions, and a growing optimism about the future. His parents were grocers throughout the 1950s and 1960s, until his father was struck by

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He describes his radically changing family structure as he and his two younger brothers moved with their parents to the provincial town of

Herning Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)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 ...

, near to where his father had been raised. There he graduated from high school, after which he attended the

University of Århus Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra G ...

, where he received his master's degree and a Ph.D. in comparative literature. It was there also where he became involved in the student movement of the 1970s. With his then fiancée, Anne Marie Mai, he wrote several books on literature, including a two-volume study of Danish women writers from the Middle Ages to contemporary times, "Danske kvindelige forfattere 1-2". In 1982 Dalager left the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

to live as a writer, which he has continued to do since. He has written poetry, fiction (prose), drama, filmscripts and essays. Several of his poems and novels have been translated into other languages, and he has seen his plays staged in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, and other cities around the world. Dalager's work concentrates on the existential conditions of both ordinary people and contemporary and historical known persons, with moments of psychological soul-searching expressed within a multitude of differing conditions. Dalager's diverse gallery of characters ranges from the woman of his Sarajevo monologue, ''I Count the Hours'', to Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen in the play ''Lord and Shadow'' and the novel "Journey in blue"; from the dissident Count Claus Stauffenberg and Adolf Hitler in his novel ''To dage i juli'' (''Two Days in July'')to dr. Simon Wiesenthal in his novel "Labyrinten" ("The Labyrinth"). the 11th of sept. The poetry cycle ''Århus-elegi'' (''Aarhus eulogy'') of 1986 represents his poetic breakthrough. His most recent collection, ''Den tynde væg'' (''The thin Wall''), was published in 2016. Dalager writes of his own poetry: "For me poetry gives room for a more intimate and personal reflection in an attempt to 'answer' some of the changes of our times. What has particularly been of interest for me as a poet is to try to find the words for the vanitas of things in the midst of our modern living. Having two daughters, 9 and 11 years of age, I have more and more come to see the emotions of love as the most important source of my writing." Three of his latest prose-works were the novels ''Journey in blue''(about H.C. Andersen) published in 2004 (English 2006), ''The Labyrinth'' in 2006 and ''Land of shadows''(about 9/11 in New York) in 2007. Dalager's 2017 novel ''Kvinde i et århundrede'' (''Woman in a Century'') about the first female philosopher in Europe, Elisabeth of Bohemia, and his 2020 ''Kaos og verden'' (''Chaos and The World'') about Trumps America and AI are his most recent to have been published.

Prose

*''Hærværksforeningen og andre noveller'', 1980 *''Bergomi'', novel, 1984 *''Jon'', novel, 1986 *''Glemsel og erindring'', novel, 1992. *''Davids bog'' (David's Book), novel, 1995. (translated into

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and more) *''Fanget'' (Trapped), detective novel, 1998. *''Tilfældige forbindelser'' (Casual relations), stories, 1998. *''En dukkes histories'' (A Doll's Story), stories for children, 2000. *''Øvelser i ensomhed'' (Exercises in Loneliness), novel, 2000. *''To dage i july'' (Two Days in July), novel, 2002, (translated into 5 languages) *''Opgøret med det entydige'', essays, 2002. *''Tilfældige forbindelser'' (Casual relations), prose trilogy, 2002–03. *''Rejse i blåt'' (Journey in Blue), novel, 2004. (translated into 15 languages) *''Labyrinten'' (The Labyrinth), novel, 2005. * "Land of shadows", novel, 2007. *''Slowly comes the light'', novel, 2009 *''The Long Day'', novel, 2011 *''The Blue Light'', novel, 2012 * "Eternity of the Moment", novel, 2013 * "Journey without End, novel", 2015 * "Woman in a Century", novel, 2017 * "The last days of the Rabby", tale, 2017 * "Kaos og verden" (Chaos and The World), novel 2020 * "En verden af forbindelser" (A world of relations), a prose trilogy, 2022

Plays

*''Monolog for ung mand'' (Monologue for a Young Man), radio play/ monologue, 1982 *''En aften i Hamburg'' (An Evening in Hamburg), play 1983–85 *''Nat i Venedig'' (Night in Venice), play, 1987, trans. Washington D.C., 1992 *''Nat med sne og kærlighed'' (Night With Snow and Love), radio play, 1987 *''Morgen i Århus'' (Morning in Aarhus), radio play, 1988 *''Mesteren og Margarita'' (The Master and Margarita), play, 1991 *''Herre og skygge'' (Lord and Shadow), play, 1992, trans. (staged in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

and more) *''En historie om forræderi'' (A Story About Treason), play, 1992. *''Jeg tæller timerne'' (I Count the Hours), monologue, (staged in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and other cities) *''Længsler og skygger'', play, 1995. *''Drømmen'' (The Dream), play, trans. 1999. (New York, Moscow, Łódź, Copenhagen and other cities) *''En halv times kærlighed'' (A Half Hour Love), play, 2001. *''Ansigter'' (Faces), dia-monologue for an Israeli and

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

woman, New York, Copenhagen, 2005. *''Family Night'', play, 2005. (premiere in New York 2006 ) *''American Elektra'', play, premiere in

and Copenhagen 2007. *" Evening light", play, 2012 *" Journey in light and shadow", play, 2017(worldpremiere in New York 2017) *" Hammarskjöld", monologue about Dag Hammarskjöld, worldpremiere in Copenhagen, May and in New York, September, 2022

filmscripts

*''I fremmed havn'',(''In a Foreign Harbour'') film, 1990 *''Ved havet'' (''At the Sea''), TV film, 1991 *''Møde i natten'',(''Meeting in the Night'') TV film, 1991 *''Mørke og forsoning'', documentary film from the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, 2003. (''Darkness and reconciliation'') *" Land of shadows", script for filmadaptation of "Land of shadows" (2020) *" Journey in blue", script for filmadaptation of "Journey in blue" (2020)

libretti

*''Kærlighed og forræderi'', opera libretto for Niels Marthinsen, 1997.

Poetry collections

*''Opløsningstiden'' (Denmark: Arkona, 1982) *''Lindholmen station'' (Valby, Denmark: Helka, 1985) *''Provinsidyl'' ith Peter Nielsen(Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1986) *''Århus-elegi'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1986) *''Vinter'' (Viby, Denmark: Centrum, 1987) *''Ansigt og årstid'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1988) *''Hjernen er en rød station'' (Copenhagen: Brøndum, 1989) *''Floden under huset'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1992) *''Wienerdage'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1994) *''Og du skal vågne igen'' (Copenhagen: Per Kofod, 1996) *''Himlen åbner sig'' (Copenhagen: Tiderne Skifter, 2000). * "Ildfluerne danser", 2012 (Århus EC Edition) * "Den tynde væg", 2016 (Århus EC Edition) -- Essays -- * "Opgøret med det entydige", Essays and articles, 2000 * "Ansøgning om at være menneske", Essays and articles, 2009 * "Nedtælling for humanismen", Essays and articles, 2018

External links

Danish Performing ArtsArena BooksThe GuardianGreen Integer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalager, Stig Danish male poets 1952 births Living people 20th-century Danish poets 20th-century Danish male writers