Jóanes Nielsen (born April 5, 1953 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 ...

) is a Faroese author and poet of the 1980s generation. Nielsen has written short stories, plays and novels. He has published seven collections of poetry, and was nominated for the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

's Literature Prize for the fourth time with his latest collection of poems, entitled ''Brúgvar av svongum orðum'' (Bridges of Hungry Words). One of his main influences is the writer

William Heinesen Andreas William Heinesen (15 January 1900 – 12 March 1991) was a poet, novel writer, short story writer, children's book writer, composer and painter from the Faroe Islands. His writing The Faroese capital Tórshavn is always the centre of H ...

, who features in some of his poems. As a writer Nielsen is mainly associated with a political and often existential message. He has 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 ...

five times: 1988, 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2012. In December 2012 the international publication house

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

made a contract with Nielsen to publish his novel ''Brahmadellarnir'', which was first to be published in German. The Random House contract was regarded as an historic event for Faroese literature, because no other Faroese author's work had until then been published by such a large publishing house.

Published work

* 1978: Trettandi mánaðin (poems). * 1984: Pinnabrenni til sosialismuna (poems). * 1985: Tjøraðu plankarnir stevna inn í dreymin (poems). * 1986: Á landamørkum vaksa blomstur (short stories). * 1987: Naglar í jarðarinnar hús (poems). * 1991: Gummistivlarnir eru tær einastu tempulsúlurnar sum vit eiga í Føroyum (novel). * 1993: Kirkjurnar á havsins botni (poems). * 1994: Undergroundting (essays, articles). * 1999: Undergroundting 2 (essays) * 1998: Pentur (poems) * 1999: Undergroundting 2 (essays). * 2002: Eitur nakað land week-end? (play) * 2005: Glansbílætasamlararnir (novel). * 2007: Tey eru, sum taka mánalýsi í álvara (poems). * 2009: Aftaná undrið (play) * 2011: Brahmadellarnir (novel) * 2012: Tapet millum øldir (poems)

Translated into Danish

* 2016 – Tapet mellem århundreder (poetry) (May 2016) * 2012 – Brahmadellerne – en nordatlantisk krønike (novel) (October 2012) * 2011 – Der findes dem der tager måneskin alvorligt (poetry) * 2010 – Broer af sultne ord (poetry) * 2008 – Glansbilledsamlerne (novel) * 2005 – Hedder noget land weekend? : skuespil i syv afsnit (play) * 1999 – Sting (poems) * 1994 – Kirkerne på havets bund (poetry) * 1992 – Gummistøvlerne er de eneste tempelsøjler vi ejer på Færøerne (novel) * 1988 – Saltet i dampende middagsgryder (poetry)

Translated into Norwegian

* 2009 – Glansbildesamlarane (roman) * 2008 – Det fins dei som tar månelys på alvor (digte) * 2007 – Frå alle kantar ber vinden med seg ord og plantar og teikn (digte i udvalg) * 2004 – Bruer av svoltne ord (digte) * 2003 – Sting (digte)

Translated into German

* 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. * 2016 - Die Erinnerungen (novel) (orig. Brahmadellarnir), translated from Danish by Ulrich Sonnenberg, btb Verlag (Randomhouse)

Honour

*1984 – Faroese Literature Prize (Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens) *2002 – Winner of the Nordic Drama Award for ''Eitur nakað land week-end ?''. * 2011 – Mentanarvirðisløn Landsins (Faroese Cultural Award) (150.000 DKK) * 2012 – Faroese Literature Prize (Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens) for his novel ''Brahmadellarnir'' from 2011 (35.000 DKK). *2012 - Brahmadellarnir was nominated for the

2013 *2012 - He was the first Faroese author to make a contract with one of the world's largest publication houses,

.Information.dk (''in Danish'')
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References

- a film portrait of Jóanes Nielsen {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Joanes 1953 births Living people Faroese male novelists 20th-century Faroese poets Faroese-language poets Faroese short story writers Faroese Literature Prize recipients 21st-century Faroese poets Faroese male poets 20th-century Danish short story writers 21st-century Danish short story writers Danish male short story writers 20th-century Danish male writers 21st-century Danish male writers