Andreas William Heinesen (15 January 1900 – 12 March 1991) was a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, writer, composer and painter from the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

His writing

The Faroese capital

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of th ...

is always the centre of Heinesen's writing and he is famous for having once called Tórshavn "The Navel of the World". His writing focuses on contrasts between darkness and light, between destruction and creativity. Then following is the existential struggle of man to take sides. This is not always easy, however, and the lines between good and bad are not always clearly defined. Heinesen was captivated by the mysterious part of life, calling himself religious in the broadest sense of the word. His life could be described as a struggle against defeatism with one oft-quoted aphorism of his is that "life is not despair, and death shall not rule".

Publications

As he was born and raised before the Faroese language was taught in the schools, he wrote mainly in Danish but his spoken language was Faroese. All his books were later translated into his native Faroese. He published his first collection of poetry when he was 21 and he had three more published before he wrote his first novel ''Blæsende gry'' (''Stormy Dawn'') in 1934. He read every single one of the chapters to the painter Sámal Joensen-Mikines, as he was worried that his Danish was not good enough. That was followed up with ''Noatún'' (1938). Noatún has a strong political message – solidarity is the key to a good society. His next book ''The Black Cauldron'' (1949) deals with the aftermath of decadent living combined with religious hysteria. In ''The Lost Musicians'' (1950) Heinesen leaves the social realism of his earlier works behind, instead giving himself over to straightforward storytelling. ''Mother Pleiades'' (1952) is an ode to his imagination. Its subtitle is "''a Story From the Beginning of Time''". Heinesen was not content with writing only novels. In the fifties he began writing short stories as well. Most of them have been printed in these three collections entitled ''The Enchanted Light'', ''Gamaliel's Bewitchment'' and ''Cure Against Evil Spirits'' (1969). In the novel '' The Good Hope'', his main character the Rev. Peder Børresen is based on the historical person Rev. Lucas Debes. When Heinesen was asked how long it had taken to write it, he answered "Forty years. But then I did other things in between."

Recognition

He was awarded the Danish literary prize Holberg Medal in 1960. He received

The Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

in 1965 for his novel ''Det gode håb'' (''The Good Hope''), published in 1964. In the story Heinesen had the difficult task of reproducing 17th-century Danish. He succeeded, and won the prize. It is widely considered his best work. When there were rumours that William Heinesen was about to receive the

Nobel Prize for 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 t ...

in 1981, he wrote to the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

and renounced his candidacy. Later he explained why: :''The

Faroese language Faroese ( ; ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language spoken as a first language by about 69,000 Faroe Islanders, of whom 21,000 reside mainly in Denmark and elsewhere. It is one of five languages descended from Old Norse#Old West ...

was once held in little regard – indeed it was suppressed outright. In spite of this, the Faroese language has created a great literature, and it would have been reasonable to give the Nobel Prize to an author who writes in Faroese. If it had been given to me, it would have gone to an author who writes in Danish, and in consequence Faroese efforts to create an independent culture would have been dealt a blow.'' He was awarded with the

Faroese Literature Prize The Faroese Literature Prize, also known as the Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens (M. A. Jacobsen's Cultural Award), is a prize for Faroese literature that was begun by the Tórshavnar kommuna (Tórshavn City Council) in 1958. Its winners inclu ...

in 1975. In 1980 on his 80th birthday Heinesen was appointed "Tórshavn's Citizen of Honour" by his home town. In 1980 he received the Danish Critics Prize for Literature (Kritikerprisen). In 1984 he received the ''Children's Books Prize of Tórshavn City Council'' ( Barnabókaheiðursløn Tórshavnar býráðs) In 1985 he was awarded the ''Karen Blixen Medal'' from the

Danish Academy Danish Academy is an independent organisation founded in 1960 by a circle of Danish intellectuals "to promote Danish esprit and language, especially within the field of literature". It has up to 20 members, currently 18, and is based at Rungstedl ...

. In 1987 he was awarded the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize ("little Nobel").

Bibliography

Information in this bibliography is taken from the Danish Literature Centre.

Poems

* Arktiske Elegier og andre Digte (Arctic Elegies and other Poems), Copenhagen 1921 * Høbjergningen ved Havet (Haymaking by the Sea), Copenhagen 1924 * Sange mod Vaardybet (Songs towards the Depths of Spring), Copenhagen 1927 * Stjernerne vaagner (The Stars Awaken), Copenhagen 1930 * Den dunkle Sol (The Dark Sun), Copenhagen 1936 * Digte i udvalg (Selected Poems), Copenhagen 1955 * Hymne og harmsang (Hymns and Songs of Indignation), Copenhagen 1961 * Panorama med regnbue (Panorama with Rainbow), Copenhagen 1972 * Vinterdrøm. Digte i udvalg 1920–30 (Winter Dream. Selected Poems 1920–30), Copenhagen 1983 * Samlede digte (Complete Poems), Copenhagen 1984 * Digte (Poems), Copenhagen 1990

Short story anthologies

* Det fortryllede lys (The Enchanted Light), Copenhagen 1957 * Gamaliels besættelse (Gamaliel Possessed), Copenhagen 1960 * Kur mod onde ånder (A Cure for Evil Spirits), Copenhagen 1967 * Don Juan fra Tranhuset (Don Juan from the Whale Oil Factory), Copenhagen 1970 * Fortællinger fra Thorshavn (Tales from Tórshavn), Copenhagen 1973 * Grylen og andre noveller (The Gryla and Other Stories), Copenhagen 1978 * Her skal danses (Let There Be Dancing), Copenhagen 1980 * Laterna magica (Laterna Magica), Copenhagen 1985 **Laterna Magica. Fjord Press, 1987 -

Novels

* Blæsende Gry (Windswept Dawn), Copenhagen 1934 **Windswept Dawn. Dedalus, 2009 - * Noatun (Noatun), Copenhagen 1938 * Den sorte gryde (The Black Cauldron), Copenhagen 1949 **The Black Cauldron. Dedalus, 2000 - * De fortabte spillemænd (The Lost Musicians), Copenhagen 1950 ** The Lost Musicians (translated by W. Glyn Jones), Dedalus, 2006 - * Moder Syvstjerne (The Kingdom of the Earth), Copenhagen 1952 ** Mother Pleiades Dedalus, 2011 - * Det gode håb ( The Good Hope), Copenhagen 1964 ** The Good Hope Dedalus, 2011 - * Tårnet ved verdens ende (The Tower at the Edge of the World), Copenhagen 1976 ** The Tower at the Edge of the World Dedalus, 2018 -

Heinesen's art on stamps

File:Faroe stamp 309 the temptations of saint antony.jpg, FR 309 of

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

: The Temptations of Saint Anthony. File:Faroe stamp 310 marmennil - the little merman.jpg, FR 310: FR Marmennil – The Little Merman.

References

Other sources

* Hedin Brønner (1973) ''Three Faroese Novelists: An Appreciation of Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen, William Heinesen, Heðin Brú'' (Ardent Media) *Hazzard, Christinna. 2019.
Semi-Peripheral Realism: Nation and Form on the Borders of Europe.
PhD Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

External links

Dansk Litteraturhistorisk Bibliografi

Website about William Heinesen with bibliography

Dedalus Books

Dedalus Catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinesen, William Danish male novelists 1900 births 1991 deaths Nordic Council Literature Prize winners Faroese Literature Prize recipients Faroese Children's Literature Prize recipients Translators to Faroese Faroese male novelists Faroese short story writers 20th-century Faroese poets People from Tórshavn 20th-century translators 20th-century Danish novelists 20th-century Faroese painters Faroese male poets 20th-century Danish short story writers Danish male short story writers 20th-century Danish male writers