Johannes V. Jensen belongs to the literary record as a writer whose work outlasted the moment that produced it.
The record lists Johannes V. Jensen as Danish author (1873-1950).
Johannes V. Jensen was born at Farsø in 1873. His recorded nationality is Denmark. He was educated at Viborg Katedralskole and University of Copenhagen.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, literary form itself came under argument, and the certainties of the realist novel were dismantled.
He worked as writer, poet and novelist.
Among his best-known works are The Fall of the King, Stories from Himmerland and The Long Journey. Literature is judged by re-reading, which is a slower and harsher test than acclaim.
Recognition followed: Nobel Prize in Literature (1944).
That the work was written from Denmark matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.
Johannes V. Jensen died in 1950, aged 77. The books remain, which is the only durable form a writing life takes.
Achievements
- Nobel Prize in Literature — 1944
- Notable work: The Fall of the King
- Notable work: Stories from Himmerland
- Notable work: The Long Journey
- Notable work: Digte
