Ursula Andkjær Olsen
The Danish poet Ursula Andkjær Olsen
Ursula Andkjær Olsen in 2011.
Born1970
Copenhagen, Denmark
OccupationPoet
LanguageDanish

Ursula Andkjær Olsen (born 1970) is a Danish poet. She has published a dozen poetry collections, two of which have been translated into English and published as Third-Millennium Heart (2017) and Outgoing Vessel (2021).

Olsen is one of Denmark's most prominent and critically acclaimed contemporary poets.[1][2] In 2017, the Danish Arts Foundation's judging panel said, in giving Olsen its Award of Distinction, "Few poets, if any, have renewed Danish poetry in the 21st century the way Ursula Andkjær Olsen has done it."[3]

Early life and education

Olsen was born in 1970 in Copenhagen, and she grew up in the capital.[3][4]

She holds a master's degree in musicology and philosophy from the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Berlin.[5][6] Early in her career, she worked for several years as a music critic for Berlingske and other newspapers.[2][6][7] She also studied at the Forfatterskolen, an institution of higher education in Copenhagen that focuses on literary writing, graduating in 1999.[6][8]

Writing

Poetry

Olsen made her literary debut in 2000 with the polyphonic poetry book Lulus sange og taler.[4][9] She went on to publish nearly a dozen more poetry collections.[8]

Her 2005 collection Ægteskabet mellem vejen og udvejen attracted significant critical acclaim and became a turning point in her career.[2] Then, 2008's Havet er en scene was nominated for the 2009 Nordic Council Literature Prize.[2][10]

Though she was not selected, the following year Olsen received the Otto Gelsted Prize, and the year after she won the Holberg Medal for her overall body of work up to that point.[11][12] She later received the Montanaprisen Award in 2013 for Det 3. årtusindes hjerte, described as a "polyphonic 214-page poem."[1][4] She was subsequently given the Danish Critics' Prize for Literature in 2015 for Udgående Fartøj, sometimes described as a sequel to or, in Olsen's words, "a dark twin" of Det 3. årtusindes hjerte.[1][4] In 2017, the Danish Arts Foundation gave her its Award of Distinction.[3] Most recently, Olsen's 2020 poetry collection Mit smykkeskrin was nominated in 2021 for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.[10]

Her works Det 3. årtusindes hjerte and Udgående Fartøj have been translated into English under the titles Third-Millennium Heart and Outgoing Vessel, respectively, by Katrine Øgaard Jensen.[3][13] Third-Millennium Heart won the 2018 National Translation Award for Poetry.[1] Outgoing Vessel was scheduled for publication in March 2021.[14]

As a poet, Olsen is considered part of the ecopoetry and ecofeminist movements.[2][15]

In 2013, she became the editor of the journal Critique.[6] Since 2019 she has been the director of the Forfatterskolen, a literary school she attended 20 years earlier, after having served in an acting capacity since the previous year.[16]

Other projects

Olsen has also written one novel, Krisehæfterne: Pandora Blue Box, Atlantissyndromet, which was published in 2017.[10][17]

Her work also includes several theatrical pieces, as well as libretti for operas. Among her libretti are those for Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen's Sol går op, sol går ned and Peter Bruun's Miki Alone, the latter of which received the 2008 Nordic Council Music Prize.[3]

Selected works

Poetry

  • Lulus sange og taler, 2000
  • Atlas over huller i verden, 2003 (poetry and prose)
  • Ægteskabet mellem vejen og udvejen, 2005
  • Skønheden hænger på træerne, 2006
  • Havet er en scene, 2008
  • Have og helvede, 2010
  • SAMLET, 2011 (poems written from 2000–2010)
  • Det 3. årtusindes hjerte, 2012
  • Den bedste af alle verdener, 2014
  • Udgående fartøj, 2015
  • Vi rus salve, 2016
  • Mit smykkeskrin, 2020

Novel

  • Krisehæfterne: Pandora Blue Box, Atlantissyndromet, 2017

English translations

  • Third-Millennium Heart (2017)
  • Outgoing Vessel (2021)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Naga, Noor (2018-11-21). "Fearlessness, Alienation, & Mother-Sexuality: An Interview with Ursula Andkjær Olsen". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jensen, Morten Høi (2017-11-13). "Cellular Portals: A Conversation with Ursula Andkjær Olsen". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ursula Andkjær Olsen, Third-Millennium Heart". Action Books. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  4. 1 2 3 4 ""Outgoing Vessel (an excerpt)," by Ursula Andkjær Olsen". World Literature Today. 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  5. ↑ Olsen, Ursula Andkjær (December 2015). "from "Third-Millennium Heart"". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Who is Seven Responses? - Ursula Andkjær Olsen". The Crossing. 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  7. ↑ Schwabsky, Barry (2019-01-04). "A Poet Invents Her Voice". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  8. 1 2 "Ursula Andkjær Olsen". Haus für Poesie. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  9. ↑ "Ursula Andkjær Olsen (poet)". Poetry International. 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  10. 1 2 3 "Ursula Andkjær Olsen". Nordic Co-operation. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  11. ↑ "Det danske Akademi". Danske Litteraturpriser (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  12. ↑ "Dansk Forfatterforening". Danske Litteraturpriser (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  13. ↑ Grimaldi-Donahue, Allison (September 2017). "Solid but Yielding: Ursula Andkjær Olsen's "Third-Millennium Heart"". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  14. ↑ "Ursula Andkjær Olsen, Outgoing Vessel". Action Books. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  15. ↑ Jensen, Katrine Øgaard (December 2015). "After Inger Christensen: Humans, Plants, and Planets in New Danish Poetry". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  16. ↑ Ganderup, Mads Bager (2019-06-25). "Ny rektor for skandaleramt forfatterskole: "Stormen er ovre nu"". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  17. ↑ Håkansson, Kasper (2018-01-21). "Ursula Andkjær Olsen: Krisehæfterne. Pandora Blue Box. Atlantis-syndromet". K's BOGNOTER (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-03-03.
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