Johannes V. Jensen

Jensen began his literary career by writing pulp fiction, but he made the move into more serious literature by the late 1890s. His early novels depict his disillusionment with large, modern cities. His historical novel The Fall of the King (1933) focuses on King Christian II. It was reportedly an "indictment of Danish indecision and lack of vitality, which Jensen saw as a national disease".

• Name — Johannes V. Jensen • Birth Name — Johannes Vilhelm Jensen • Born — 20 January 1873 • Birthplace — Farsø, Jutland, Denmark • Died — 25 November 1950 • Place of death — Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark • Occupation — Writer • Awards — Nobel Prize in Literature

He was born in Farsø, a village in north Jutland, Denmark, as the son of a veterinary surgeon and he grew up in a rural environment. While studying medicine at the University of Copenhagen he worked as a writer to fund his studies. After three years of studying he chose to change careers and devote himself fully to literature.

• Illustration — Johannes V. Jensen in 1902. Jensen began his career writing pulp fiction, but made the move into more serious literature with the publication of Danskere (1896, Danishmen), soon followed by Einar Elkjær (1898). Both early novels depict disillusionment with large, modern cities. From there, Jensen went on to write Himmerland Stories (1898–1910), comprising a series of tales set in the part of Denmark where he was born. His 1904 short story "Ane og Koen" ("Anne and the Cow") went on to be translated into English by incarcerated author and translator Victor Folke Nelson in 1928. During 1900 and 1901 Jensen wrote his first most significant novel, Kongens Fald (translated into English as The Fall of the King in 1933), a modern historical novel centered on King Christian II. Literary critic Martin Seymour-Smith said it is an "indictment of Danish indecision and lack of vitality, which Jensen saw as a national disease. Apart from this aspect of it, it is a penetrating study of sixteenth-century people." In 1906 Jensen published his first collection of poetry, Digte 1906 (i.e. Poems 1906), would give rise to his reputation as an early leading Modernist in Denmark. In addition to his novels, short stories, and poetry, Jensen also wrote a few plays, and many essays, notable for their grand narratives, futurism, jingoism, and interest in anthropology and the philosophy of evolution. The latter culminated in a cycle of six novels, Den lange rejse (1908–22), translated into English as The Long Journey (1908–1922), later published in a two-volume edition in 1938, sometimes called an "evolutionary bible" of mankind. In the short autobiographical account of his career which he wrote on receiving the Nobel Prize, Jensen said he was motivated to "introduce the philosophy of evolution into the sphere of literature... I was prompted to do this because of the misinterpretation and distortion of Darwinism" by the Nazis. Like his compatriot Hans Christian Andersen, he travelled extensively; a trip to the United States inspired a poem of his, "Paa Memphis Station" [At the train station, Memphis, Tennessee], which is well known in Denmark. Walt Whitman was among the writers who influenced Jensen. Jensen later became an atheist.

Jensen's most popular literary works were all completed before 1920, a year which also marked his initiation of the Museumcentre Aars in the town of Aars in Himmerland. After this he mostly concentrated on ambitious biological and zoological studies in an effort to create an ethical system based upon Darwinian ideas. He also hoped to renew classical poetry. By his own account, Jensen often wrote for newspapers, though he never employed by one.

• The Long Journey, vol 1–3, (Fire and Ice; The Cimbrians; Christopher Columbus) New York, 1924. * * *

Jensen was recorded at birth as Johannes Vilhelm Jensen. The authorities additionally record the heading Johannes Jensen. His recorded language was Danish. He was the child of Hans Jensen and Marie Kirstine Jensen. He married Else Marie Ulrik. 3 children are recorded: Villum Jensen, Jens Jensen and Emmerik Jensen. Other recorded relations include Hans Ulrik, Jens Jensen Væver and Gorm Boje Jensen.