William Heinesen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 15 January 1900 |
| Died | 12 March 1991(1991-03-12) (aged 91) Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |
| Occupation(s) | Poet,novelist,composer,artist |
| Children | Zacharias Heinesen |
Andreas William Heinesen (15 January 1900 – 12 March 1991) was apoet, writer, composer and painter from theFaroe Islands.[1][2]
The Faroese capitalTórshavn 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".
As he was born and raised before the Faroese language was taught in the schools, he wrote mainly inDanish but his spoken language was Faroese. All his books were later translated into his nativeFaroese.
He published his first collection of poetry when he was 21 and he had three more published before he wrote his first novelBlæsende gry (Stormy Dawn) in 1934. He read every single one of the chapters to the painterSámal Joensen-Mikines, as he was worried that his Danish was not good enough. That was followed up withNoatún (1938). Noatún has a strong political message – solidarity is the key to a good society. His next bookThe Black Cauldron (1949) deals with the aftermath of decadent living combined with religious hysteria. InThe 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 entitledThe Enchanted Light,Gamaliel's Bewitchment andCure Against Evil Spirits (1969). In the novelThe 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."
He was awarded the Danish literary prizeHolberg Medal in 1960.
He receivedThe Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1965 for his novelDet gode håb (The Good Hope), published in 1964.[3][4] 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 theNobel Prize for literature in 1981, he wrote to theSwedish Academy and renounced his candidacy. Later he explained why:
He was awarded with theFaroese Literature Prize in 1975.[6]
In 1980 on his 80th birthday Heinesen was appointed "Tórshavn's Citizen of Honour" by his home town.[7]
In 1980 he received theDanish Critics Prize for Literature (Kritikerprisen).[8]
In 1984 he received theChildren's Books Prize of Tórshavn City Council (Barnabókaheiðursløn Tórshavnar býráðs)[9]
In 1985 he was awarded theKaren Blixen Medal from theDanish Academy.[10]
In 1987 he was awarded theSwedish Academy Nordic Prize ("little Nobel").
Information in this bibliography is taken from the Danish Literature Centre.[11]
