1997 Dorrit Willumsen, Denmark: Bang: en roman om Herman Bang

Dorrit Willumsen was born in Copenhagen and embarked on her literary career in the mid-1960s. Since then, she has published novels, short stories, collections of poems and plays. She made her definitive breakthrough with the novel Marie, about the life of Madame Tussaud and describing the costs of art to love life. In Denmark, she has, for instance, been awarded the following prizes: the grand prize of Det Danske Akademi, the critics prize and the Søren Gyldendal Prize.

Bang: en roman om Herman Bang is, as indicated by the title, about Herman Bang, writer, reporter, stage manager and comedian. He is generally considered one of the masters in Danish literature. The novel gives a description of Bang’s work as a reporter, his letters, events in his life and the memories told by friends and colleagues. The framework of the book describes Bang’s last journey on which he held a series of literary conferences in the USA in 1912. We meet the writer Bang lonely and tired on his arrival in New York. He has left Denmark and Europe on account of persecution relating to his homosexuality that he no longer tries to hide. Dorrit Willumsen describes his life and thoughts on this journey. He looks back on his childhood with an insane father.

Bang: en roman om Herman Bang

Published by: Gyldendal publishing company 

Publication year: 1996

Dorrit Willumsen’s novel about Herman Bang is a renewal of the biographic genre. With a sharp and beautiful language she lifts the topic above the modern artistic existence to a level, where the specific individual takes on universal meaning and appeal.