Since the beginning of the 1950s Villy Sørensen has played a central role in the intellectual and cultural life of Denmark. Part poet, part philosopher, both his literary output and his philosophical work deal with cognitive problematics. Villy Sørensen perceives the human as fundamentally split between intellect and emotion. This has lead to his profound interest in the constitution of the human psyche and how the modern way of life is reflected in our inner world.
Villy Sørensenīs first published book was Sære historier (Strange Stories 1953) - a collection of modern fairy-tales and fantastical stories.
Strange Stories introduces the reader to īthe absurdī as an aesthetic literary concept. The stories emerge as a plunge into the dark recesses of the mind, but are told in a matter-of-fact and occasionally jolly tone. The book runs the whole gamut from Kafka to Hans Christian Andersen and draws on old folksongs and folktales, the Faust legend and literary classics. The prototypes are clearly shown in Villy Sørensenīs almost transparent linguistic expression, but are interpreted and used to their own purpose. Irony is a frequently employed stylistic figure, equally applied when giving a twist to sundry puns and familiar colloquialisms which are also characteristic of Villy Sørensenīs style.
In his next publication, Ufarlige historier (Harmless Stories 1955), the dualism of intellect and emotion is dealt with in quite concrete terms. In the story Duo (Duo) the eponymous figure is - as the name suggests - dual. This grotesque existence represents the modern complex person, who, in order to be complete, has to be split in two. Following the division, one half becomes a popular preacher who speaks every language at one and the same time, while the other half becomes a mountebank - that is, an artist. A crude picture of the consequences of dualism.
In Formynderfortællinger (Tutelary Tales 1964) Villy Sørensen fantasizes on a related cognitive issue: the relationship between freedom and necessity. This theme recurs in all the tales, indeed they also mutually reflect one another. Villy Sørensen here analyses the psychology of the guardian and finds spiritual corruption and self-deception, abuse of power and impotence. The psychological condition - the repressed - is portrayed in a series of fractured figures.
Alongside an extensive list of philosophical and socially engaged books, Villy Sørensen had been writing his short imaginative stories. In 1986 a further collection was published, De mange og de enkelte (Another Metamorphosis and Other Fictions). Villy Sørensen has also published a series of diaries, Tilløb 1949-53 (Beginnings 1949-53), Forløb 1953-61 (Continuation 1953-61) and Perioder 1961-74 (Phases 1961-74), plus the highly praised re-workings of heroic legends Ragnarok (The Downfall of the Gods 1982) and Apollons oprør (The Revolt of Apollo 1989).
(1998)
