Villy Sørensen (13 January 1929 – 11 September 2001) was a Danish short story writer, philosopher and literary critic of the Modernist tradition. His fiction was heavily influenced by his philosophical ideas, and he has been compared to Franz Kafka in this regard.
History Born in Copenhagen, Sørensen graduated from the Vestre Borgerdydskole in 1947, and then attended the University of Copenhagen and the University of Freiburg studying philosophy. Although he did not graduate, he later received an honorary degree from the University of Copenhagen.
Sørensen published his first collection of short stories, Strange Stories in 1953, which many critics have identified as being the start of Danish literary Modernism. He published additional collections of short stories in 1955 and 1964, all winning various awards in Denmark. These stories generally explored the absurd and hidden parts of the human psyche.
Sørensen began editing the journal Vindrosen (with Klaus Rifbjerg) in 1959. Afterward, he became a member of the Danish Academy in 1965, subsequently editing several other Modernist journals and periodicals. Sørensen, though he continued to produce short fiction throughout his life, was also deeply engaged in philosophy, about which he wrote many essays and several books including Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero and his response to Søren Kierkegaard's Either/Or, Hverken-eller (i.e. "Neither/Nor"). He also published books and essays about Nietzsche, Kafka, Marx, Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard, and was a notable translator of over 20 books. He was awarded the Grand Prize of the Danish Academy in 1962, The Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1974, the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1983, the inaugural Swedish Academy Nordic Prize in 1986, along with many other awards and recognitions. He died in Copenhagen in 2001.
Bibliography Sære historier, 1953 - Strange Stories / Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories Ufarlige historier, 1955 - Harmless Tales Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories, 1957 Digtere og dæmoner: Fortolkninger og vurderinger, 1959 ed.: Begrebet Angest by Søren Kierkegaard, 1960 Hverken-eller: Kritiske betragtningen, 1961 ed.: Økonomi og filosofi by Karl Marx, 1962 Nietzsche, 1963 Formynderfortællinger, 1964 - Tutelary Tales ed.: Haabløse Slægter by Herman Bang, 1965 ed.: Eventyr og historier by H.C. Andersen, 1965 ed.: Skuespil by William Shakespeare, 1966 Kafkas digtning, 1968 Schopenhauer, 1969 Mellem fortid og fremtid, 1969 Midler uden mål. 1971 Uden mål - og med, moralske tanker, 1973 Seneca, 1976 - Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero translator: The Book by Martin A. Hansen, 1978 (with Anne Born) Oprør fra midten, 1978 (with Niels I Meyer and K. Helweg-Pedersen) - Revolt from the Center Den gyldne middelvej, og andre debatindlæg i 1970erne, 1979 Vejrdage, betragtninger 1980 translator: The Dream of the Woman by Knud Hjortø, 1980 (with Anne Born) Alladin, 1981 (with Errol le Cain) Ragnarok, en gudefortælling, 1982 - The Downfall of the Gods - Ragnarök, jumalten tuho Røret om oprøret, 1982 (with Niels I Meyer and K. Helweg-Pedersen) translator: The Mountains by H.C. Branner (with Anne Born) ed.: Kunsten og revolutionen by Richard Wagner, 1983 En gudedrøm, ballet for Nyt Danske Danseteater, 1984 translation: Skøn er krigen for den uerfarne (Dulce bellum inexpertis) by Erasmus Roterodamus, 1984 De mange og De enkelte og andre småhistorier, 1986 ed.: Tine by Herman Bang, 1986 ed.: Tunge Melodier by Herman Bang, 1987 ed.: Enten-Eller by Søren Kierkegaard, 1988 Demokratiet og kunsten, 1988 Tilløb: dagbog 1949-53, 1988 Den berømte Odysseus, 1988 (with Andy Li Jørgensen) Apollons oprør: de udødeliges historie, 1989 Another Metamorphosis & Other Fictions, 1990, translated by Tiina Nunnally & Steven T. Murray Forløb: dagbog 1953-61, 1990 ed.: Demokratiske visioner by Walt Whitman, 1991 Den frie vilje, 1992 Jesus og Kristus, 1992 Perioder: dagbog 1961-74, 1993 Historien om Ødipus, 1995 (with Roald Als) translation: Grimms eventyr, 1995 Blot en drengestreg, 1996 (with Pernille Kløvedal Helweg) translation: Drømme by Franz Kafka, 1998 Jesus og Kristus, 1999 På egne veje, 2000 En ensom fugl, 2000
Sources
"Sorensen, Villy." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 31 October 2006.