Stig Dalager (born 1952) is a Danish writer. He is the author of 65 literary works of all kinds, mostly

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s and plays, of which several have been translated or staged internationally.

Biography

Dalager was born in

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 ...

, Denmark, in the post-war period of the 1950s, a time of painful remembrances of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, continued economic restrictions, and a growing optimism about the future. His parents were grocers throughout the 1950s and 1960s, until his father was struck by

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. Dalager describes his radically changing family structure as he and his two younger brothers moved with their parents to the provincial town of

Herning Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)

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 ...

, near to where his father had been raised. There Dalager graduated from high school, after which he attended the University of Århus, where he received his master's degree and a Ph.D. in comparative literature. It was also there that he became involved in the student movement of the 1970s. With his then fiancée, Anne Marie Mai, he wrote several books on literature, including a two-volume study of Danish women writers from the Middle Ages to contemporary times, ''Danske kvindelige forfattere 1-2''. In 1982, Dalager left the

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

to live as a writer, which he has continued to do since. He has written poetry, fiction (prose), drama, filmscripts and essays. Several of his poems and novels have been translated into other languages, and he has seen his plays staged in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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, and other cities. The poetry cycle ''Århus-elegi'' (''Aarhus eulogy'') of 1986 was his poetic breakthrough. His most recent collection, ''Den tynde væg'' (''The Thin Wall''), was published in 2016. Three of his latest prose-works were the novels ''Journey in Blue'' (about H.C. Andersen) published in 2004 (English 2006), ''The Labyrinth'' in 2006 and ''Land of shadows'' (about

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in New York) in 2007. Dalager's 2017 novel ''Kvinde i et århundrede'' ("Woman in a Century") about the

Elisabeth of the Palatinate Elisabeth of the Palatinate (; 26 December 1618 – 11 February 1680), also known as Elisabeth of Bohemia (), Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate, or Princess-Abbess of Herford Abbey, was the eldest daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine (w ...

, and his 2020 ''Kaos og verden'' ("Chaos and the World") about

Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's America and AI are his most recent to have been published.

Prose

*''Hærværksforeningen og andre noveller'', 1980 *''Bergomi'', novel, 1984 *''Jon'', novel, 1986 *''Glemsel og erindring'', novel, 1992. *''Davids bog'' (David's Book), novel, 1995. (translated into

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, English and more) *''Fanget'' (Trapped), detective novel, 1998. *''Tilfældige forbindelser'' (Casual relations), stories, 1998. *''En dukkes histories'' (A Doll's Story), stories for children, 2000. *''Øvelser i ensomhed'' (Exercises in Loneliness), novel, 2000. *''To dage i july'' (Two Days in July), novel, 2002, (translated into 5 languages) *''Opgøret med det entydige'', essays, 2002. *''Tilfældige forbindelser'' ("Casual relations"), prose trilogy, 2002–03. *''Rejse i blåt'' (''Journey in Blue''), novel, 2004. *''Labyrinten'' (''The Labyrinth''), novel, 2005. * ''Land of Shadows'', novel, 2007. *''Slowly Comes the light'', novel, 2009 *''The Long Day'', novel, 2011 *''The Blue Light'', novel, 2012 * ''Eternity of the Moment'', novel, 2013 * ''Journey without End'', novel, 2015 * ''Woman in a Century'', novel, 2017 * ''The last days of the Rabby'', tale, 2017 * ''Kaos og verden'' (Chaos and The World), novel 2020 * ''En verden af forbindelser'' (A world of relations), a prose trilogy, 2022

Plays

*''Monolog for ung mand'' (Monologue for a Young Man), radio play/ monologue, 1982 *''En aften i Hamburg'' (An Evening in Hamburg), play 1983–85 *''Nat i Venedig'' (Night in Venice), play, 1987, trans. Washington D.C., 1992 *''Nat med sne og kærlighed'' (Night With Snow and Love), radio play, 1987 *''Morgen i Århus'' (Morning in Aarhus), radio play, 1988 *''Mesteren og Margarita'' (The Master and Margarita), play, 1991 *''Herre og skygge'' (Lord and Shadow), play, 1992, trans. (staged in

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

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and more) *''En historie om forræderi'' (A Story About Treason), play, 1992. *''Jeg tæller timerne'' (I Count the Hours), monologue, (staged in

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and other cities) *''Længsler og skygger'', play, 1995. *''Drømmen'' (The Dream), play, trans. 1999. (New York, Moscow, Łódź, Copenhagen and other cities) *''En halv times kærlighed'' (A Half Hour Love), play, 2001. *''Ansigter'' (Faces), dia-monologue for an Israeli and

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

woman, New York, Copenhagen, 2005. *''Family Night'', play, 2005 (stage reading premiere in New York 2006 ) *''American Elektra'', play, premiere in

and Copenhagen 2007. *''Evening Light'', play, 2012 *''Journey in Light and Shadow'', play, 2017 (world premiere in New York 2017) *''Hammarskjöld'', monologue about

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...

, world premiere in Copenhagen, May 2022, and in New York 2023

Filmscripts

*''I fremmed havn'' (''In a Foreign Harbour'') film, 1990 *''Ved havet'' (''At the Sea''), TV film, 1991 *''Møde i natten'',(''Meeting in the Night'') TV film, 1991 *''Mørke og forsoning'', documentary film from the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, 2003 (''Darkness and Reconciliation'') *"Land of shadows", script for film adaptation of ''Land of shadows'' (2020) *"Journey in Blue", script for film adaptation of ''Journey in Blue'' (2020)

Libretti

*''Kærlighed og forræderi'', opera libretto for Niels Marthinsen, 1997.

Poetry collections

*''Opløsningstiden'' (Denmark: Arkona, 1982) *''Lindholmen station'' (Valby, Denmark: Helka, 1985) *''Provinsidyl'' ith Peter Nielsen(Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1986) *''Århus-elegi'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1986) *''Vinter'' (Viby, Denmark: Centrum, 1987) *''Ansigt og årstid'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1988) *''Hjernen er en rød station'' (Copenhagen: Brøndum, 1989) *''Floden under huset'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1992) *''Wienerdage'' (Valby, Denmark: Borgen, 1994) *''Og du skal vågne igen'' (Copenhagen: Per Kofod, 1996) *''Himlen åbner sig'' (Copenhagen: Tiderne Skifter, 2000). * ''Ildfluerne danser'', 2012 (Århus EC Edition) * ''Den tynde væg'', 2016 (Århus EC Edition)

Essays

* ''Opgøret med det entydige''. Essays and articles, 2000 * ''Ansøgning om at være menneske''. Essays and articles, 2009 * ''Nedtælling for humanismen''. Essays and articles, 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalager, Stig Danish male poets 1952 births Living people 20th-century Danish poets 20th-century Danish male writers