Villy Sørensen (13 January 1929 – 16 December 2001) was 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 ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer, philosopher and literary critic of 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 ...

tradition. His fiction was heavily influenced by his

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

ideas, and he has been compared to

Franz 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 ...

in this regard.

History

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 ...

, Sørensen graduated from the Vestre Borgerdydskole in 1947, and then attended the

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

and the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

studying philosophy. Although he did not graduate, he later received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the University of Copenhagen. Sørensen published his first collection of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

, ''Strange Stories'' in 1953, which many critics have identified as being the start of Danish literary Modernism. He published additional collections of short stories in 1955 and 1964, all winning various awards in Denmark. These stories generally explored the absurd and hidden parts of the human psyche. Sørensen began editing the journal '' Vindrosen'' (with

Klaus Rifbjerg Klaus Rifbjerg (15 December 1931 – 4 April 2015) was a Danish writer. He authored more than 170 novels, books and essays. In 1965 he co-produced the film '' 4x4'' which was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. Biography Ri ...

) in 1959. Afterward, he became a member of the Danish Academy in 1965, subsequently editing several other Modernist journals and periodicals. Sørensen, though he continued to produce short fiction throughout his life, was also deeply engaged in philosophy, about which he wrote many essays and several books including ''Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero'' and his response to Søren Kierkegaard's ''Either/Or'', ''Hverken-eller'' (i.e. "Neither/Nor"). He also published books and essays about

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...

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 ...

Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work '' The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the pr ...

and Kierkegaard, and was a notable translator of over 20 books. He was awarded the

Grand Prize of the Danish Academy The Grand Prize of the Danish Academy, founded in 1961, is the most notable of Denmark's literature prizes and awards. It is awarded by the Danish Academy. Until 1982, it was handed yearly, but since then it has been given every second year. The fir ...

in 1962, The Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1974, the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1983, the inaugural Swedish Academy Nordic Prize in 1986, along with many other awards and recognitions. He died in

in 2001.

Bibliography

* Sære historier, 1953 - Strange Stories / Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories * Ufarlige historier, 1955 - Harmless Tales * Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories, 1957 * Digtere og dæmoner: Fortolkninger og vurderinger, 1959 * ed.: Begrebet Angest by Søren Kierkegaard, 1960 * Hverken-eller: Kritiske betragtningen, 1961 * ed.: Økonomi og filosofi by Karl Marx, 1962 * Nietzsche, 1963 * Formynderfortællinger, 1964 - Tutelary Tales * ed.: Haabløse Slægter by Herman Bang, 1965 * ed.: Eventyr og historier by H.C. Andersen, 1965 * ed.: Skuespil by William Shakespeare, 1966 * Kafkas digtning, 1968 * Schopenhauer, 1969 * Mellem fortid og fremtid, 1969 * Midler uden mål. 1971 * Uden mål - og med, moralske tanker, 1973 * Seneca, 1976 - Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero * translator: The Book by Martin A. Hansen, 1978 (with Anne Born) * Oprør fra midten, 1978 (with Niels I Meyer and K. Helweg-Pedersen) - Revolt from the Center * Den gyldne middelvej, og andre debatindlæg i 1970erne, 1979 * Vejrdage, betragtninger 1980 * translator: The Dream of the Woman by Knud Hjortø, 1980 (with Anne Born) * Alladin, 1981 (with Errol le Cain) * Ragnarok, en gudefortælling, 1982 - The Downfall of the Gods - Ragnarök, jumalten tuho * Røret om oprøret, 1982 (with Niels I Meyer and K. Helweg-Pedersen) * translator: The Mountains by H.C. Branner (with Anne Born) * ed.: Kunsten og revolutionen by Richard Wagner, 1983 * En gudedrøm, ballet for Nyt Danske Danseteater, 1984 * translation: Skøn er krigen for den uerfarne (Dulce bellum inexpertis) by Erasmus Roterodamus, 1984 * De mange og De enkelte og andre småhistorier, 1986 * ed.: Tine by Herman Bang, 1986 * ed.: Tunge Melodier by Herman Bang, 1987 * ed.: Enten-Eller by Søren Kierkegaard, 1988 * Demokratiet og kunsten, 1988 * Tilløb: dagbog 1949-53, 1988 * Den berømte Odysseus, 1988 (with Andy Li Jørgensen) * Apollons oprør: de udødeliges historie, 1989 * Another Metamorphosis & Other Fictions, 1990, translated by

Tiina Nunnally Tiina Nunnally (born August 7, 1952) is an American author and translator. Early life and education Nunnally was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She was an AFS exchange student to ...

& Steven T. Murray * Forløb: dagbog 1953-61, 1990 * ed.: Demokratiske visioner by Walt Whitman, 1991 * Den frie vilje, 1992 * Jesus og Kristus, 1992 * Perioder: dagbog 1961-74, 1993 * Historien om Ødipus, 1995 (with Roald Als) * translation: Grimms eventyr, 1995 * Blot en drengestreg, 1996 (with Pernille Kløvedal Helweg) * translation: Drømme by Franz Kafka, 1998 * Jesus og Kristus, 1999 * På egne veje, 2000 * En ensom fugl, 2000

Sources

*
"Sorensen, Villy."

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

Online. Retrieved 31 October 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Villy 1929 births 2001 deaths Danish essayists Danish literary critics Danish male short story writers Nordic Council Literature Prize winners People from Copenhagen Recipients of the Grand Prize of the Danish Academy 20th-century Danish writers 20th-century Danish short story writers 20th-century essayists 20th-century Danish male writers