Biography about Martin Andersen Nexø

Martin Andersen Nexø was born 6.26.1869 in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods of Christianshavn in a family of eleven children. In 1877 unemployment drove the family to move from Copenhagen and settle in Neksø on the island of Bornholm. He took the pen name Nexø i 1894. As a child he worked first as a herd boy and at age fifteen was apprenticed to the shoemaker’s trade in Rønne. After attending folk high school at Østermarie Højskole 1890-91 and Askov Højskole 1891-93 he got work as a teacher at various Grundtvigian schools in the years 1893-1901. In 1898 his first collection of short stories, Skyggerne, was published and in the following years he tried travel books from journeys to Italy and Spain. After years of preparation the novel Pelle Erobreren was published in 1910, dedicated to Henrik Pontoppidan. Translated to more than 25 languages Pelle Erobreren is the most widely disseminated Danish literary work in the world after Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. All of his works have been translated and many have been made into films. In addition to his international literary status Martin Andersen Nexø was the recipient of many awards and grants. In 1909 he came on the Civil List with a permanent pension. In 1945 he became an honorary member of the Norwegian Writers’ Union, and in 1951 he received the Germen Nationalpreis Für Literatur. Martin Andersen Nexø died 6.1.1954.


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An alphabetical guide to Danish writers who have received literary recognition, or whose biographies have appeared in literary reference books. Details include first books published, literature and links concerning the writer, and biographical writing in book form.