Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwe ...
, Denmark – 5 March 2004,
Samsø
Samsø (Anglicized: "Samso" or "Samsoe") is a Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 3,724 inhabitants (2017) (January 2010:4,010) called ''Samsings'' and is 114&n ...
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...
at the
University of Aarhus
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 Gr ...
and his prize winning MA thesis (1947) was about
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogn ...
, whose works he later translated into Danish. With Bjørn Poulsen he founded the literary journal ''
Heretica
''Heretica'' was a conservative cultural and literary magazine published in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 1948 to 1953.
History and profile
''Heretica'' was established in 1948. One of the founders was Thorkild Bjørnvig. It was largely inspired ...
'', as a reaction against the
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
and realist wave in Danish literature, that had prevailed in the years before the Second World War. Bjørnvig also edited the first two volumes of the magazine. ''Heretica'' was largely inspired by the British periodical ''
The Criterion
''The Criterion'' was a British literary magazine published from October 1922 to January 1939. ''The Criterion'' (or the ''Criterion'') was, for most of its run, a quarterly journal, although for a period in 1927–28 it was published monthly. It ...
Benny Andersen
Benny Andersen (7 November 1929 – 16 August 2018)Benny Andersen er død '' Per Højholt.
Among his poetry collections are ''Stjærnen bag Gavlen'' (1947), ''Anubis'' (1955), ''Figur og Ild'' (1959), ''Ravnen'' (1968) ''Morgenmørke'' (1977), ''Gennem regnbuen'' (1987) og ''Siv, vand og måne'' (1993). He also published essays about Danish and international authors such as Frank Jæger, Sophus Claussen, Rilke and
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
.
In a series of autobiographical books, he described his complicated friendship with
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 ...
from 1948 to 1955 (''Pagten'', 1974), his childhood (''Solens have og skolegården'', 1983; ''Hjørnestuen og månehavet'', 1984) and his time as a student during and after
World War II
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
(''Jordens hjerte'', 1986; ''Ønsket'', 1987).
In 2006, the title poem from Bjørnvig's 1955 collection of poems ''Anubis'' became part of the
Danish Culture Canon
The Danish Culture Canon ( da, Kulturkanonen) consists of 108 works of cultural excellence in eight categories: architecture, visual arts, design and crafts, film, literature, music, performing arts, and children's culture. An initiative of Brian ...
of literature.
Biography
Thorkild Strange Bjørnvig grew up in
Mejlgade
Mejlgade is a street in Aarhus which runs north to south from ''Østbanetorvet'' to Skolegade and intersects ''Nørrebrogade''. The street is situated in the historic Latin Quarter neighborhood and has the highest number of historic and listed b ...
in Aarhus as the son of factory inspector Theodor Frese Pedersen Bjørnvig and his wife Adda Thomine Hammel Jensen. He graduated from
Aarhus Katedralskole
Aarhus Katedralskole is a cathedral school, an institution of secondary education, a Danish Gymnasium and a listed building in Aarhus, Denmark. The school is situated in the neighborhood Midtbyen, in the Latin Quarter, bounded by the streets Mejl ...
in 1938, after which he became a student of
literary science
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
at
Aarhus University
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 Gr ...
. In 1964 he attained a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
s degree at the same university.Thorkild Bjørnvig Litteratursiden.dk
From 1973 onwards, Thorkild Bjørnvig lived on the island of
Samsø
Samsø (Anglicized: "Samso" or "Samsoe") is a Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 3,724 inhabitants (2017) (January 2010:4,010) called ''Samsings'' and is 114&n ...