Ursula Andkjær Olsen

Ursula Andkjær Olsen (born 1970) is a Danish poet. She has published a dozen poetry collections, three of which have been translated into English and published as ''Third-Millennium Heart'' (2017), ''Outgoing Vessel'' (2021), and ''My Jewel Box'' (2022).

Olsen is one of Denmark's most prominent and critically acclaimed contemporary poets. In 2017, the Danish Arts Foundation's judging panel said, in giving Olsen its Award of Distinction, "Few poets, if any, have renewed Danish poetry in the 21st century the way Ursula Andkjær Olsen has done it."

Early life and education

Olsen was born in 1970 in Copenhagen, and she grew up in the capital.

She holds a master's degree in musicology and philosophy from the University of Copenhagen and Technische Universität Berlin. Early in her career, she worked for several years as a music critic for ''Berlingske'' and other newspapers. She also studied at the , an institution of higher education in Copenhagen that focuses on literary writing, graduating in 1999.

Writing

Poetry

Olsen made her literary debut in 2000 with the polyphonic poetry book ''Lulus sange og taler.'' She went on to publish nearly a dozen more poetry collections.

Her 2005 collection ''Ægteskabet mellem vejen og udvejen'' attracted significant critical acclaim and became a turning point in her career. Then, 2008's ''Havet er en scene was'' nominated for the 2009 Nordic Council Literature Prize.

Though she was not selected, the following year Olsen received the Otto Gelsted Prize, and the year after she won the Holberg Medal for her overall body of work up to that point. She later received the Montanaprisen Award in 2013 for ''Det 3. årtusindes hjerte'', described as a "polyphonic 214-page poem." She was subsequently given the Danish Critics' Prize for Literature in 2015 for ''Udgående Fartøj'', sometimes described as a sequel to or, in Olsen's words, "a dark twin" of ''Det 3. årtusindes hjerte.'' In 2017, the Danish Arts Foundation gave her its Award of Distinction. Most recently, Olsen's 2020 poetry collection ''Mit smykkeskrin'' was nominated in 2021 for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

Her works ''Det 3. årtusindes hjerte,'' ''Udgående Fartøj'', and ''Mit smykkeskrin'' have been translated into English under the titles ''Third-Millennium Heart,'' ''Outgoing Vessel'', and ''My Jewel Box'', respectively, by Katrine Øgaard Jensen. ''Third-Millennium Heart'' won the 2018 National Translation Award for Poetry''.'' ''Outgoing Vessel'' was published in March 2021, followed by ''My Jewel Box'' in March 2022. A collaborative work of translation and mistranslation by Jensen, featuring Olsen's work alongside that of other poets, is due out in 2025 under the title ''Ancient Algorithms''.

As a poet, Olsen is considered part of the ecopoetry and ecofeminist movements.

In 2013, she became the editor of the journal ''Critique.'' From 2019 to 2023 she served as the director of the , a literary school she attended 20 years earlier, after having served in an acting capacity since the previous year.

Other projects

Olsen has also written one novel, ''Krisehæfterne: Pandora Blue Box, Atlantissyndromet'', which was published in 2017.

Her work also includes several theatrical pieces, as well as libretti for operas. Among her libretti are those for Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen's ''Sol går op, sol går ned'' and Peter Bruun's ''Miki Alone'', the latter of which received the 2008 Nordic Council Music Prize.

Selected works

Poetry

* ''Lulus sange og taler'', 2000
* ''Atlas over huller i verden'', 2003 (poetry and prose)
* ''Ægteskabet mellem vejen og udvejen'', 2005
* ''Skønheden hænger på træerne'', 2006
* ''Havet er en scene'', 2008
* ''Have og helvede'', 2010
* ''SAMLET'', 2011 (poems written from 2000–2010)
* ''Det 3. årtusindes hjerte'', 2012
* ''Den bedste af alle verdener'', 2014
* ''Udgående fartøj'', 2015
* ''Vi rus salve'', 2016
* ''Mit smykkeskrin'', 2020
* ''Morgenkåber'', 2021

Novel

* ''Krisehæfterne: Pandora Blue Box, Atlantissyndromet'', 2017

English translations

* ''Third-Millennium Heart'' (2017)
* ''Outgoing Vessel'' (2021)
* ''My Jewel Box'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Ursula Andkjaer
1970 births
Danish women poets
Danish women novelists
Danish women dramatists and playwrights
Danish music critics
Danish women critics
Women music critics
Danish writers about music
Writers from Copenhagen
Living people