Knuth Becker

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Carl Hendrik Knuth Becker (born January 21, 1891 in Hjørring ; † October 30, 1974 in Var near Sebbersund / Aalborg ) was a Danish writer who mainly wrote five extensive novels about Kai Gøtsche , which were published in his home country mainly because of their socially critical tendencies Were "temporary talk of the day". In 1961 he was the first author to receive the Grand Prize of the Danish Academy.

life and work

The young Becker suffers greatly from the cramped and strict conditions at first in his parents' house, then (from 10 years) in the holsteinsminde opdragelsesanstalt , a reformatory. He is trained as a mechanic. The distress of his youth reappears “naturally” in his realistically oriented cycle of novels about an always failing “hero”. In 1917 Becker married Mette Wittrup Pedersen (died 1990). From 1919 to 1923 he worked at Nordjysk Forlag in Copenhagen . The daily bread , with which he opened the cycle in 1932, was an immediate success. For Kindler's New Literature Lexicon it represents the most successful part of the series, because here the author's social intent is still original and unused and less the plot than the description of the state (of a childhood) is in the foreground. Becker creates a loyal audience with the series.

For Kendtes Gravsted, there is no better (critical) representation of life in a Jutland town between 1900 and 1920. Becker never denounces and even allows himself irony. Kai Gøtsche is also troubled by the hardship of a soldier's life (in Troubled Spring and When the Train is Moving ). Not little influenced by Maxim Gorki and his compatriots Andersen Nexö and Henrik Pontoppidan , Becker is nevertheless dismayed by Pontoppidan's glossing over the war. In 1943 Becker and his wife can retire to the Waar farm between Nibe and Løgstør. They have a son (Claus Becker, 1922–2009).

Honors

In addition to the 1961 Academy Prize , Becker was awarded the Herman Bang in 1971 and the Pontoppidan Memorial Prize in 1974. At the house Søndergade 9 in his hometown (9800) Hjørring there is a relief with Becker's portrait.

Works

Novels about Kai Gøtsche

  • Det daglige Brød , 1932, Czech Prague 1942, German. The daily bread , Hamburg 1946, House Seelandsfreude , Rostock 1972
  • Verden venter , 1934
  • Uroligt forår (Troubled Spring), 1938–39
  • Når toget kører (When the train goes), 1944
  • Marianne , 1956

also

  • Digte , poems, 1916
  • Are og stof , poems, 1951
  • Ferie fra hverdagen , Roman, 1957
  • Huset , Roman, 1961

literature

  • Emil Frederiksen: Knuth Becker , Critical Essay, Copenhagen 1970
  • This website lists articles in various journals , accessed on February 13, 2011

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article Knuth Becker in Kindler's Neuem Literatur Lexikon , Munich 1988
  2. ^ Also Munich 1988
  3. ↑ Kendtes Gravsted website , accessed on February 13, 2011
  4. ^ Pontoppidan website , accessed on February 13, 2011

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Becker, Knuth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Becker, Carl Hendrik Knuth (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish writer
DATE OF BIRTH January 21, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Hjørring
DATE OF DEATH October 30, 1974
Place of death Var near Sebbersund, Aalborg