Hans Kirk
Encyclopedia
Hans Kirk was a celebrated Danish author, who penned the best-selling novel
of all-time in his native Denmark
, The Fishermen (1928). Kirk was a long-time Communist Party
member in Denmark and remained active until his death. His novels, which in addition to The Fishermen include The Day Laborers and The New Times, reflect Kirk's Marxist-influenced beliefs.
Kirk's style is noted for subtle punctuation expressions. Perhaps the most striking is the absence of quotation marks, a practice that obscures the presence of narrator/author. Long dashes are used to mark a change of time and the organization of his novels do not use chapter headings, just blank spaces between paragraphs.
Although Hans Kirk was a prolific author - in his lifetime Kirk produced eight novels, as well as short stories, essays, and radio plays - he remains relatively unknown in the United States. With the recent translations of The Fishermen, The Day Laborers, The New Times, and The Slave by University of Iowa
professor Marc Linder, Kirk's novels are now available for the first time in English http://www.iowabook.com/ .
in 1940. He was interned by the Gestapo
as an enemy of Nazi Germany
in 1941. He completed the manuscript for the third novel while interned, but it was discovered by the Nazis and destroyed. Despite subsequent attempts, Kirk never managed to fully reconstruct it.
rural fishing village in 1920's Denmark. It is an excellent example of social realism
. Its newest inhabitants are members of the Inner Mission (Indre Mission in Danish) puritanical revivalist movement, and refer to themselves as "the Pious", and their beliefs are often at odds with the less rigid Grundtvigian villagers. As the Pious adjust to life in their new village, they struggle with economic hardship and personal upheaval, while trusting that any and all outcomes are God's will. Kirk himself was an atheist; however, in writing The Fishermen, he wished to show the connection between religion, economics, and politics in rural life. Kirk attempted to understand rather than condemn the Pious movements popularity in rural Denmark, by examining how they made sense of their socioeconomic conditions outside of a political framework. His portrayal of the Pious can be read as deeply sympathetic.
The Fishermen was reworked eight times, before its final version. While Kirk's extensive revisions of The Fishermen was a process of choice; he would be forced to completely rewrite later works.
The Fishermen was adapted into a six hour film by Danish state television http://tv2.dk/ in 1977.
The Slave ISBN 0-9673899-4-1
The Day Laborers/New Times ISBN 0-9673899-6-8
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
of all-time in his native Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, The Fishermen (1928). Kirk was a long-time Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
member in Denmark and remained active until his death. His novels, which in addition to The Fishermen include The Day Laborers and The New Times, reflect Kirk's Marxist-influenced beliefs.
Kirk's style is noted for subtle punctuation expressions. Perhaps the most striking is the absence of quotation marks, a practice that obscures the presence of narrator/author. Long dashes are used to mark a change of time and the organization of his novels do not use chapter headings, just blank spaces between paragraphs.
Although Hans Kirk was a prolific author - in his lifetime Kirk produced eight novels, as well as short stories, essays, and radio plays - he remains relatively unknown in the United States. With the recent translations of The Fishermen, The Day Laborers, The New Times, and The Slave by University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
professor Marc Linder, Kirk's novels are now available for the first time in English http://www.iowabook.com/ .
The Day Laborers and The New Times
The Day Laborers and The New Times chronicle the industrialization of an agrarian society in early 20th century Denmark. Unlike the characters in The Fishermen, the majority of the characters are not particularly religious. The novels were initially conceived of as being part of a trilogy, but Kirk's writing was interrupted by the Nazi occupation of DenmarkOccupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
in 1940. He was interned by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
as an enemy of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1941. He completed the manuscript for the third novel while interned, but it was discovered by the Nazis and destroyed. Despite subsequent attempts, Kirk never managed to fully reconstruct it.
The Fishermen
The Fishermen tells the collective story of a northern JutlandNorthern Jutland
Northern Jutland is the name for the region north of the Kongeå in Jutland. The region south of the Kongeå is called Southern Jutland . Both territories have had own ting assemblies in the Middle Ages ....
rural fishing village in 1920's Denmark. It is an excellent example of social realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
. Its newest inhabitants are members of the Inner Mission (Indre Mission in Danish) puritanical revivalist movement, and refer to themselves as "the Pious", and their beliefs are often at odds with the less rigid Grundtvigian villagers. As the Pious adjust to life in their new village, they struggle with economic hardship and personal upheaval, while trusting that any and all outcomes are God's will. Kirk himself was an atheist; however, in writing The Fishermen, he wished to show the connection between religion, economics, and politics in rural life. Kirk attempted to understand rather than condemn the Pious movements popularity in rural Denmark, by examining how they made sense of their socioeconomic conditions outside of a political framework. His portrayal of the Pious can be read as deeply sympathetic.
The Fishermen was reworked eight times, before its final version. While Kirk's extensive revisions of The Fishermen was a process of choice; he would be forced to completely rewrite later works.
The Fishermen was adapted into a six hour film by Danish state television http://tv2.dk/ in 1977.
| List of characters in The Fishermen |
|---|
| Aaby—teacher |
| Adolfine—Laust Sand's stepdaughter/Mads Langer's wife |
| Brink, Henrik—Grundtvigian pastor |
| Brink, Sofie—Pastor Brink's wife |
| Bundgaard, Lars—West Coast fisherman |
| Bundgaard, Malene—Lars' wife |
| Bundgaard, Karl—Lars and Alma's son |
| Bundgaard, Teodor—Lars and Alma's son |
| Dorre—Laust Sand's sister |
| Esben—Katrine's father |
| Fabian, P.L.--dry goods merchant |
| Fabian, Maria—Fabian's wife |
| Hygum, Peder—hawker |
| Hygum, Laura—Peder's wife |
| Hygum, Peder and Laura's daughter |
| Jensen, Thomas—West Coast fisherman |
| Jensen, Alma—Thomas's wife |
| Jensen, Maren—Thomas and Alma's daughter |
| Katrine—hotel maid/Esben's daughter/Kock's wife |
| Kjeld—Tea Ron's brother |
| Kjøng, Anders—Lars Bundgaard's laborer |
| Knopper, Anton—West Coast fisherman |
| Knopper, Andrea—Martinus Povlsen's daughter/Anton's wife |
| Knopper, Little-Martinus—Anton and Andrea's son |
| Knud—carpenter |
| Kock—customs official/shoemaker/innkeeper |
| Kolby, Jens—fjord fisherman |
| Koldkjær, Mogens—Thora's father |
| Langer, Mads—stoker/Laust Sand's nephew/Adolfine's husband |
| Mogensen, Mrs.--innkeeper/laundry owner |
| Povlsen, Karl—fjord fisherman |
| Povlsen, Mrs.--Karl's wife |
| Povlsen, Martinus—Andrea's father |
| Røn, Jens—West Coast fisherman |
| Røn, Tea—Jens's wife |
| Røn, Little-Niels—Jens and Tea's son |
| Røn, Martin—Jen and Tea's son |
| Røn, Tabita—Jens and Tea's daughter |
| Sand, Laust—West Coast fisherman |
| Spliid, Jorgen—fjord fisherman |
| Terndrup—Inner Mission pastor |
| Thomas, Kresten—West Coast Inner Mission pastor |
| Thora—Mogens Koldjaer's daughter/Kjeld's wife |
| Toft, Lars—fjord fisherman |
| Toft, Laurids—Povl Vrist's laborer |
| Væver, Niels—fjord fisherman |
| Vrist, Povl—West Coast fisherman |
| Vrist, Mariane—Povl's wife |
| Baker |
| Consumer co-op manager |
| County magistrate |
| County sheriff |
| Farmer |
| Police chief |
Selected works
The Fishermen ISBN 0-9673899-2-5The Slave ISBN 0-9673899-4-1
The Day Laborers/New Times ISBN 0-9673899-6-8