Benny Andersen

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Benny Andersen at the Danish Book Fair 2009

Benny Allan Andersen (born November 7, 1929 in Vangede , Gentofte Kommune ; † August 16, 2018 in Sorgenfri ( Lyngby-Taarbæk Kommune )) was a Danish writer , poet , composer and pianist . He is the most widely read contemporary Danish poet; his songs are often sung and his evergreen Svantes lykkelige dag (Svantes happy day) has been included in school songbooks .

life and work

Benny Andersen worked mostly as a bar pianist from 1949 to 1962. He published his first poems in the literary magazine Heretica . They were influenced by the Danish poets Frank Jæger and Halfdan Rasmussen . From 1962, after the publication of his second collection of poems, he worked as a freelance writer.

He was particularly successful with his “song novel” Svantes viser (Svantes songs) , published in 1972, with the poems “About the figure of the fictional Swedish poet Svante Svendsen, née. Svensson, which he performed on stage with the singer-songwriter Povl Dissing ”. His collected poems , published in 1998, were also very popular ; never before has a poetry publication in Denmark reached a circulation of more than 100,000 copies.

The secret of Anderson's success lies in his humor. In his verses he dealt self-ironically with people's everyday lives. He had the ability to play with the language. With his absurdly realistic prose he creates "the comic aspects of human existence".

Andersen has written radio plays, some children's books and several scripts, including the children's films Mein veryerbest Freund (1992; original title: Snooky Snovsen ) and Everyone talking about Snooky Snovsen (1994, original title: T'ar jumps ). He translated Georg Trakl and Peter Weiss into Danish and had been a member of Det Danske Akademi since 1972 .

Together with the singer Povl Dissing, Andersen appeared as a duo that released numerous records. He co-founded the $ 10,000 Benny Andersen Prize; The award is given to people who have made special efforts to improve the situation of socially disadvantaged children in Denmark.

Andersen distanced himself from the current tough Danish foreign policy, which he found unbearable; he said he regretted that he had portrayed Denmark so positively in some poems and saw himself “no longer as a Danish folk poet, but only as a world citizen in Denmark”.

Quote

"Andersen [...] has an undeniable talent for singable verses, for lively, sometimes absurdistically tinged rhymes and laconic puns like Fuglene flyer I flok / når de er mange nok (The birds fly in flocks / when they are numerous enough) [...] Such laconisms, together with the croaking voice of the singer, ensure the duo a popularity that extends beyond national borders. "

- Thomas Seiler

Awards

Publications

Danish original editions

  • 1960: Den musikalske ål
  • 1962: Camera med køkkenadgang
  • 1963: Bukserne
  • 1963: Nikke Nikke Nambo and other thanks børnerim and remser
  • 1964: The indre bowler hat
  • 1966: Portrætgalleri
  • 1969: This was the case and the others
  • 1971: Her i reserved
  • 1974: Personal papirer
  • 1979: Himmelspræt eller kunsten at komm til verden
  • 1985: Tides and storks
  • 1990: HC Andersen's land
  • 1991: Chagall and Skorpiondans
  • 1993: Denne come og gåen
  • 1993: With liv som indvandrer
  • 1995: Verdensborger i Danmark
  • 1996: Verden udenfor syltetøjsglasset
  • 2001: Sjælen marineret
  • 2003: Svantes lykkelige dag
  • 2005: Speeched
  • 2005: Den Vilde Ungdom
  • 2009: stuff

German-language editions

  • Life is narrow and high. Poems . From the Danish by Gerti-Beate Hauser and Peter Stokholm. Classen, Zurich and Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-7172-0258-8 .

Discography Povl Dissing & Benny Andersen

  • 1973: Svantes Viser (LP)
  • 1977: Køb Blomster ... (LP)
  • 1981: Oven Visse Vande (LP)
  • 1984: Hymner Og Ukrudt (LP)
  • 1988: Over Adskillige Grænser (LP)
  • 1990: I Al Slags Vejr (CD)
  • 1992: Hilsen Til Forårssolen (CD)
  • 1998: Skynd Dig Langsomt (CD, together with Jens Jefsen)

literature

  • Anderson, Benny . In: Gero von Wilpert: Lexicon of world literature . Authors A-K . DTV, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-423-59050-5 .
  • Jürg Glauser (editor): Scandinavian literary history . Metzler, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-476-01973-X .
  • Erika Kosmalla: Andersen, Benny . In: Northern European literatures . VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig 1980.
  • Henrik Marstal: Benny Andersen - et liv ved klaveret. Aschehoug . Oslo 2004. ISBN 978-87-11-11708-8 .
  • Leonie Marx: Benny Andersen: A Critical Study (Contributions to the Study of World Literature) . Greenwood Press, Westport 1983, ISBN 978-0313241680 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thomas Seiler in: Jürg Glauser (editor): Scandinavian literary history . Stuttgart 2006, page 307/308.
  2. ↑ Lexicon of World Literature. Authors AK . DTV, Munich 1997, p. 47.
  3. ^ Film lexicon Internet access on February 10, 2012
  4. ^ Benny Andersen Prize
  5. ↑ Thomas Borchert (DPA): Benny Andersen distances himself from his Danish homeland . In: RuhrNachrichten from September 17, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed on the Internet on February 10, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.ruhrnachrichten.de  
  6. ↑ Benny Andersen and Povl Dissing
  7. ^ Scandinavian literary history . Metzler, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-476-01973-X , page 308
personal data
SURNAME Andersen, Benny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Andersen, Benny Allan (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish writer, poet, composer and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Vangede , Gentofte Commune
DATE OF DEATH August 16, 2018
Place of death Sorgenfri ( Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality )