Sophus Claussen (12 September 1865 Helletofte – 11 April 1931

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves fo ...

) 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 ance ...

writer. He is best remembered for his neo-romanticism poems.

Biography

Born in 1865, Claussen was the son of politician Rasmus Claussen and Hanne Sophie (). He began his studies in 1884 and published his first collection of poetry, , which attracted attention due to its daringness and bold eroticism along the lines of Emil Aarestrup's work. For a number of years Claussen was involved with the local press. He first began to make a name for himself through two partially symbolic, partially realistic

idylls An idyll (, ; from Greek , ''eidullion'', "short poem"; occasionally spelt ''idyl'' in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the ''Idylls'' (Εἰδύλλια). U ...

about life in

market towns A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

, "" (1894) and "Kitty" (1895), which through a blend of prose and poetry as well as playfulness and grace captivated readers (particularly his introduction to "": "", likely his most significant work evised edition 1912. Claussen later continued his depictions of Danish island life in "" (1899) and "" (1900). His small travel novels "" and "" (both 1896) are unique among his works with their poetically chatty tone. Additionally, he wrote the play "". Claussen lived in Paris for a number of years and published several smaller books (""

901 __NOTOC__ Year 901 (CMI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February – King Louis III (the Blind) is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by P ...

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. After returning to Denmark, he published a comprehensive and characteristic collection of poetry, , which defines the capricious nature of his body of work. Among his later works, "" (1925) and "" (1927) can be highlighted as particularly representative of his poetic nature. Claussen's complete works are available in nine volumes. Claussen and author

Johannes Jørgensen Jens Johannes Jørgensen (6 November 1866, in Svendborg – 29 May 1956) was a Danish writer, best known for his biographies of Catholic saints. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Early days Johannes Jørgensen was b ...

co-wrote the journal ''

Taarnet ''Taarnet'' (Danish language, Danish: ''The Tower'') was a monthly art and literary magazine founded and edited by Johannes Jørgensen in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was subtitled as Illustreret Tidsskrift for Kunst og Litteratur (Danish: Illustrated ...

'' as part of the Danish

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sym ...

movement. To Claussen's regret, he never had a big breakthrough. Recognition eventually came among the

Heretica ''Heretica'' was a conservative cultural and literary magazine published in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 1948 to 1953. History and profile ''Heretica'' was established in 1948. One of the founders was Thorkild Bjørnvig. It was largely inspired b ...

circle and author

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

. Claussen was closely linked with painter

Albert Gottschalk Albert Gottschalk (3 July 1866 – 13 February 1906) was a Danish painter. He had a close connection, personally and artistically, to the poets Johannes Jørgensen, Viggo Stuckenberg and Sophus Claussen. Biography Albert Gottschalk was born in ...

. He is buried in Gentofte cemetery.

Honors

''Ekbatana'', from 1896, is included in the

Danish culture canon The Danish Culture Canon ( da, Kulturkanonen) consists of 108 works of cultural excellence in eight categories: architecture, visual arts, design and crafts, film, literature, music, performing arts, and children's culture. An initiative of Bri ...

Works

* , 1887 * 1899 * 1894 * , 1904 * , 1912 * 1925

References

External links

Sophus Claussen
Danish Wikisource 1865 births 1931 deaths Danish male poets 19th-century Danish poets 20th-century Danish poets 19th-century male writers 20th-century Danish male writers {{Denmark-writer-stub