Hanus Kamban (born 25 June 1942 in Saltangará,

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

) is a Faroese short story writer, essayist, biographer and poet. He was born Hanus Andreassen, but changed his last name to Kamban in 2000. Kamban grew up on the small island of Skúvoy and moved to

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 ...

in 1956. He writes about the quite sudden modernisation of the Faroese society post

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He published his first short story anthology in 1980, and has translated

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typi ...

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

and other great writers and poets from other countries to Faroese. From 1994 to 1997 he published a three-volume biography of one of the most important Faroese poets,

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'' ...

. It was translated into

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 ...

and published in two volumes in 2001. He was nominated to 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 ...

for the first time in 2003 for his short story anthology ''Pílagrímar'' (Pilgrims). In 2012 he was nominated for the second time to the

, this time for his short story anthology ''Gullgentan'', which was published in Faroese in 2010 and in Danish in 2012. The title means "The Golden Girl". Kamban won the

Faroese Literature Prize The Faroese Literature Prize, also known as the Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens (M. A. Jacobsen's Cultural Award), is a prize for Faroese literature that was begun by the Tórshavnar kommuna (Tórshavn City Council) in 1958. Its winners includ ...

, which in Faroese is called Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens, in 1980 and again in 1986. In 2004 he won the

Faroese Cultural Prize Mentanarvirðisløn Landsins (Faroese Cultural Prize) has been awarded by the Faroese government to Faroese writers, musicians, artists etc. since 1998. In 2004 no award was given. From 1998 to 2000 only one award was given, but in 2001 they esta ...

. In February/March 2013 Kamban was invited to

the Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington DC for the ''Nordic Cool Festival''. He was one of the Nordic writers/poets on the Literature Panel with the theme ''In the Cracks Between the Lines'' – Magic Realism of the North. He was president of the '' Association of Writers of the Faroe Islands'' ( Rithøvundafelag Føroya) 1992–94.

Bibliography

Short story anthologies

* Dóttir av Proteus, 1980 * Við tendraðum lyktum, 1982 * Hotel heyst, 1986 * Pílagrímar 2001 * Gullgentan, 2010 (Nominated for the

2012) ** Guldpigen, 2012 (translated into Danish by Kirsten Brix)

Short stories and poems published in magazines etc.

* ''Angels Place'', published 2001 in the short story anthology ''Mjørki í heilum'' (14 short stories chosen from the 42 short stories which were sent to a competition, arranged by Listastevna Føroya). * ''Tað nýggja Atlantis'' (The New Atlantis), published 2002 * Two poems published in Vencil 1, published 2006 * Two poems published in Vencil 2, 2007 * ''Riddarin Grøni'' (The Green Knight) í Vencil 5, 2008 * ''Saxifraga Nivalis'', published in Vencil 8, 2010

Poems

* Cafe Europa, 2008

Biographies

* 1994 –

Hjalmar Söderberg Hjalmar Emil Fredrik Söderberg (2 July 1869 – 14 October 1941) was a Swedish novelist, short story writer, playwright and journalist. His works often deal with melancholy and lovelorn characters, and offer a rich portrayal of contemporary Stoc ...

(short biography) * 1994 – J.H.O. Djurhuus – ein bókmentalig ævisøga I * 1995 – J.H.O. Djurhuus – ein bókmentalig ævisøga II * 1997 – J.H.O. Djurhuus – ein bókmentalig ævisøga III ** 2001 ''J.H.O. Djurhuus : en litteraer biografi'', Universitetsforlag,

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

2001 (Odense University studies in Scandiavian language and literature; 46. 2 Vol., I. 1881–1922, II. 1922–1948. Translated from Faroese to Danish by Kirsten Brix) * 2003 – Jósef Stalin (about the life and politics of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

)

Plays

* 2000 – Heystveingir (sjónleikur)

Anthologies with articles by Kamban, translations, poems ets.

* Kveikt og kannað (poems, articles and translations by Rikard Long), 1979 * Tíðartinnur (anthology with articles), 1986 * Tann bráðvakra hugsjónin (anthology with articles), 2000 * Heimahøllin (cantata together with the Faroese composer Kári Bæk), 2001

Essays

* 2007 – Hjarta uttan fylgisneyta: Herman Bang 150 ár (essay)

Translations

* 1969 – Drekin og aðrar søgur (

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

William Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

) * 1979 – Dreymur um eitt undarligt land (Graham Greene) * 1989 – Othello (

) * 1991 – Tey deyðu (

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

) * 2013 – Daphnis og Chloe ( Longos)

Recognition

* 1980 – Literature award M.A. Jacobsen's Faroese Literature Prize for non-fiction. * 1986 – Literature award M.A. Jacobsen's Faroese Literature Prize for fiction. * 2001 – Won Listastevna Føroya's short story competition with his short story "Angel's Place" . * 2003 – Mentanarvirðisløn Landsins (Faroese Cultural Award, given by the Faroese government)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamban, Hanus Faroese writers 21st-century Faroese poets Faroese-language poets Faroese short story writers 1942 births Translators to Faroese Faroese Literature Prize recipients Living people Faroese male poets 21st-century Danish short story writers Danish male short story writers 21st-century Danish male writers 21st-century translators People from Saltangará