William Heinesen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Heinesen
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| Born | 15 January 1900 |
| Died | 12 March 1991 (aged 91) Tórshavn
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| Occupation | Poet, novel writer |
Andreas William Heinesen (15 January 1900 – 12 March 1991) was a poet, novel writer, short story writer, children's book writer, composer and painter from the Faroe Islands.
His writing
The Faroese capital Tórshavn is always the centre of Heinesen's writing and he is famous for having once called Tórshavn "The Navel of the World". His writing focuses on contrasts between darkness and light, between destruction and creativity. Then following is the existential struggle of man to take sides. This is not always easy, however, and the lines between good and bad are not always clearly defined.
Heinesen was captivated by the mysterious part of life, calling himself religious in the broadest sense of the word. His life could be described as a struggle against defeatism with one oft-quoted aphorism of his is that "life is not despair, and death shall not rule".
Recognition
He was awarded the Danish literary prize Holberg Medal in 1960.
He received The Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1965 for his novel Det gode håb (The Good Hope), published in 1964. In the story Heinesen had the difficult task of reproducing 17th-century Danish. He succeeded, and won the prize. It is widely considered his best work.
When there were rumours that William Heinesen was about to receive the Nobel Prize for literature in 1981, he wrote to the Swedish Academy and renounced his candidacy. Later he explained why:
- The Faroese language was once held in little regard – indeed it was suppressed outright. In spite of this, the Faroese language has created a great literature, and it would have been reasonable to give the Nobel Prize to an author who writes in Faroese. If it had been given to me, it would have gone to an author who writes in Danish, and in consequence Faroese efforts to create an independent culture would have been dealt a blow.
He was awarded with the Faroese Literature Prize in 1975.
In 1980 on his 80th birthday Heinesen was appointed "Tórshavn's Citizen of Honour" by his home town.
In 1980 he received the Danish Critics Prize for Literature (Kritikerprisen).
In 1984 he received the Children's Books Prize of Tórshavn City Council (Barnabókaheiðursløn Tórshavnar býráðs)
In 1985 he was awarded the Karen Blixen Medal from the Danish Academy.
In 1987 he was awarded the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize ("little Nobel").
Heinesen's art on stamps
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FR 309 of 1997: The Temptations of Saint Anthony.
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FR 310: FR Marmennil – The Little Merman.
Other sources
- Hedin Brønner (1973) Three Faroese Novelists: An Appreciation of Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen, William Heinesen, Heðin Brú (Ardent Media) ISBN: 9780805733747
- Hazzard, Christinna. 2019. "Semi-Peripheral Realism: Nation and Form on the Borders of Europe." PhD Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.
