Inger Christensen (16 January 1935 – 2 January 2009) was a Danish poet, novelist, essayist and editor. She is considered the foremost Danish poetic experimentalist of her generation.

Life and work

Born in the town of Vejle, on the eastern

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

coast of Denmark, Christensen's father was a tailor, and her mother a cook before her marriage. After graduating from Vejle Gymnasium, she moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and, later, to

Århus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, studying at the Teachers’ College there. She received her certificate in 1958. During this same period, Christensen began publishing poems in the journal Hvedekorn, and was guided by the noted Danish poet and critic Poul Borum (1934–1996), whom she married in 1959 and divorced in 1976.Jensen, Elisabeth Mølle
''Inger Christensen (1935 - 2009)''
. Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon. After teaching at the College for Arts in Holbæk from 1963 to 1964, she turned to writing full-time, producing two of her major early collections, ''Lys'' (''Light'', 1962) and '' Græs'' (''Grass'', 1963), both examining the limits of self-knowledge and the role of

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

. Her most acclaimed work of the 1960s, however, was '' It'' (''Det''), which, on one level, explored social, political and aesthetic issues, but more deeply probed large philosophical questions of meaning. The work, almost incantatory in tone, opposes issues such as fear and love and power and powerlessness. In these years Christensen also published two novels, '' Evighedsmaskinen'' (1964) and '' Azorno'' (1967), as well as a shorter fiction on the Italian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

painter Mantegna, presented from the viewpoint of various narrators (Mantegna's secretary Marsilio, the Turkish princess Farfalla, and Mantagena's young son), Det malede Værelse (1976, translated into English as '' The Painted Room'' by Harvill Press in 2000). Much of Christensen's work was organized upon “systemic” structures in accordance with her belief that poetry is not truth and not even the “dream” of truth, but “is a game, maybe a tragic game—the game we play with a world that plays its own game with us.” In the 1981 poetry collection '' Alfabet'', Christensen used the alphabet (from a apricots"to n nights" along with the Fibonacci mathematical sequence in which the next number is the sum of the two previous ones (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...). As she explained: "The numerical ratios exist in nature: the way a leek wraps around itself from the inside, and the head of a snowflower, are both based on this series." Her system ends on the n, suggesting many possible meanings including “n’s” significance as any whole number. As with ''It'', however, despite its highly structured elements this work is a poetically evocative series concerned with oppositions such as an outpouring of the joy of the world counterposed with the fears for and forces poised for its destruction. ''Sommerfugledalen'' of 1991 ('' Butterfly Valley: A Requiem'', 2004) explores through the

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

structure the fragility of life and mortality, ending in a kind of transformation. Christensen also wrote works for children, plays, radio pieces, and numerous essays, the most notable of which were collected in her book Hemmelighedstilstanden ('' The State of Secrecy'') in 2000.

Awards and honors

In 1978, she was appointed to the Royal Danish Academy; in 1994, she became a member of the Académie Européenne de Poésie ("European Academy of Poetry");''Inger Christensen er død''
(2009-01-05) . Politiken. in 2001, a member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin."Poet Inger Christensen dies: Danish poet Inger Christensen dies at 73"
Agence France Presse, as published on the Singapore ''Straits Times'' website, retrieved January 7, 2008 She won the Grand Prix des Biennales Internationales de Poésie in 1991; She received the Rungstedlund Award in 1991. Der österreichische Staatspreis für Literature (" Austrian State Prize for European Literature") in 1994; in 1994, she won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize, known as the 'little Nobel'; the European Poetry Prize in 1995; The America Award in 2001; the German Siegfried Unseld Preis in 2006;"Danish Writer Inger Christensen Dies at Age 73"
Associated Press article (no byline given), as published on ''The New York Times'' website, January 5, 2009, retrieved January 7, 2009 and received numerous other distinctions. Her works have been translated into several languages, and she was frequently mentioned as a candidate for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

Works

Years link to corresponding " earin poetry" article for books of poems, or " earin literature" for other literary works: *

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

: ''Lys: digte'' ("Light"), poems *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

: ''Græs: digte'' ("Grass"), poems * 1964: ''Evighedsmaskinen'', ("Eternity Machine"), novel *

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

: ''Azorno'', novel (translated into English by Denise Newman; New Directions, 2009) * 1969: '' Det'', ("it"), poems 1969 (translated into English by Susanna Nied) *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

: ''Intriganterne'' ("The Scheming"), play *

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

: ''Det malede værelse'' ("The Painted Room: A Tale of Mantua"), novel (translated into English by Denise Newman; Harvill Press, 2000) *

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

: ''Brev i april'' ("Letter in April"), poems *

: ''Den historie der skal fortælles'' *

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

: '' Alfabet'', 1981 - "Alphabet", poems (translated into English by Susanna Nied), twice translated into Swedish * 1982: ''Del af labyrinten'' ("Part of the Maze"), essays * 1982: ''Den store ukendte rejse'' ("The Big Unknown Journey"), children's book *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

: ''En vinteraften i Ufa og andre spil'' ("A Winter Evening in Ufa"), plays *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

: ''Digt om døden'' ("Poem on Death") *

: ''Lys og Græs'' ("Light and Grass"), poetry * 1990: ''Mikkel og hele menageriet'' (illustrated by Lillian Brøgger) children's book *

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

: '' Sommerfugledalen'', ("Butterfly Valley: A Requiem"), poems (translated into English by Susanna Nied) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

: ''Samlede digte'' ("Collected Poems") *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

: ''Hemmelighedstilstanden'' ("The State of Secrecy"), essays

Musical settings

The complete "Butterfly valley" has been set twice by two Danish composers, Niels Rosing-Schow and Svend Nielsen. Both versions were, separately, recorded by Ars Nova Copenhagen with poetry reading by the poet.

References

External links

*
Poem of Christensen painted on a wall in Copenhagen
in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

by Marcus Williamson {{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Inger 1935 births 2009 deaths People from Vejle Municipality Danish women poets Danish women novelists Danish women essayists 20th-century Danish poets 20th-century Danish novelists 20th-century Danish women writers 20th-century Danish essayists Burials at the Garrison Cemetery, Copenhagen