“In Denmark we don’t like losers.”
Has Danish writing turned its back on society? Does it lack political awareness? Is it brutal writing? Is it claustrophobic? Are Danish writers only writing for other writers?
Hear Dorthe Nors on Danish writers. Do contemporary Danish writers reflect the identity of those living outside Copenhagen?
And what do you think?
Part of the BBC's Reading Europe Programme
Just follow the link: http://bbc.in/1LJeyNq
Dorthe Nors is one of the most original voices of contemporary Danish letters. She was born in 1970 in Herning, Denmark and currently lives in Jutland. Nors holds a degree in literature and art history from the University of Aarhus. In addition to her celebrated short story collection, Karate Chop (Kantslag), she has published one novella and four novels, including the most recent: Minna Needs Rehearsal Space (Minna mangler et øvelokale).
Nors’s short stories have appeared in countless publications, including Harper’s Magazine, Boston Review, AGNI, and Guernica.She is the first Danish writer to ever have a story published in The New Yorker.
In 2011, she was awarded the Danish Arts Agency’s Three Year Grant for “her unusual and extraordinary talent.” In 2014, her story collection Karate Chop won the presitigious P.O. Enquist Literary Prize.