Ebba Hentze

Ebba Hentze (born 25 September 1930) is a Faroese writer. She is a children's books writer, poet and translator. She has received three Faroese literature and cultural prizes: Barnamentanarheiðursløn Tórshavnar býráðs (Tórshavn City Council's Children's Books Prize) in 1984, Faroese Literature Prize (Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens) in 2006 and Faroese Cultural Prize (Mentanarvirðisløn Landsins) in 2008^[1] and funds from Denmark and Sweden. Some of her books are written in Danish and some are written in Faroese. She has been most active as a translator, she has translated around 100 books into Danish language from English, German, Faroese, Swedish and Norwegian.^[2]

Biography

Ebba Hentze was adopted to the Faroe Islands. She grew up in Tvøroyri. Her parents were Peter Christian Pauli Hentze (1891-1971), and Olivia Sophie Skaalum (1888-1976) from Hvalba. As a young girl she moved to Denmark to study. She graduated from High School at the Statens Kursus in Copenhagen in 1950. After high school she studied literature and linguistics at the University of Copenhagen. While she studied in the 1950s she got scholarships so she could study at the universities in Uppsala, Sweden, in Wienna, Rome and Sorbonne^[3][4] She has been working as a publishing consultant for Politiken. She has also been working as a publishing consultant for Gyldendal and as freelance for Danish, Swedish and Faroese radio. She moved back to the Faroe Islands in late 1970's where she got an important role among writers and other intellectuals in Tórshavn. She has been a member of the Faroese committee, which nominates Fareose books to the Nordic Council's Literature Prize. She is a member of honour of the Faroese Writer's Association (Rithøvundafelag Føroya).^[5]

Bibliography

Ebba Hentze published a few poems in the Danish literature magazine Hvedkorn. These poems were her debut as a writer. She wrote several short stories in Danish which were published in Politikens Magasin. In 1985 she published an important contribute to Faroese women's literature with her prose poem Kata, ein seinkaður nekrologur (Kata, a delayed obituary). The poem tells about a woman, who gives up her dreams to get an education, because she must take care of her younger siblings after their mother's death. Ebba Hentze has made a great effort to make Faroese literature known outside the Faroe Islands, first of all by translating Faroese novels and poems by various writers and poets to Danish and by her effort to find publishing houses who wished to publish the books. She has translated several of Jóanes Nielsen's novels and collections with poem. She has also translated Rói Patursson's poetry collection Líkasum (1985), which won The Nordic Council's Literature Prize.^[6]

Children's Books

• Antonia og Morgenstjernen, 1981
• Antonia midt i det hele, 1982 - (Both books about Antonia are written in Danish and later translated into Faroese. They have also been broadcast in radio stations in the Faroe Islands, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland. The books have also been published in the Netherlands and in Belgium.)
• Bjørns søn, 1983, written in Danish, later translated into Faroese with the title Mamman eigur meg. The story goes on in the village Hvalba, where Ebba's mother comes from.
• Mia, skúlagenta í Havn, 1987, children's book, written in Faroese
• Gulleygað, 1992, children's book, written in Faroese

Short Stories

• Juli, 1986, in Brá (Faroese literature magazine)^[7]

Poems

• Kata, ein seinkaður nekrologur, 1984 in Brá number 5^[8] Also published in the school book for 14-16 year old pupils: Les 2. (Read 2)^[9]

Faroese books translated to Danish by Ebba Hentze

• Bølgerne leger på stranden (Jens Pauli Heinesen), Gyldendal, 1980.
• Livets Sommer (roman efter Oddvør Johansen), Forlaget Vindrose, 1982.
• Med Edgar Allan Poe i Solhavn. Husets Forlag, 1984. 12 chosen short stories by Hanus Andreassen (who now is called Hanus Kamban)
• Ligesom, 1986, (collection of poems by Rói Patursson, who won The Nordic Council's Literature Prize). Original title: Líkasum
• Saltet i dampende middagsgryder, 1988 (poems by Jóanes Nielsen), Vindrose, Ebba Hentze has chosen the poems from his earliest collection of poetry, she translated them to Danish and put them together to this poetry collection.^[10]
• Færøhesten, 1990 (illustrated children's book by Ólavur Michelsen)^[11]
• Gummistøvler er de eneste tempelsøjler vi ejer på Færøerne, 1992 (novel by Jóanes Nielsen) Original title: Gummistivlarnir eru tær einastu tempulsúlurnar sum vit eiga í Føroyum
• Kirkerne på havets bund, 1994, (poems by Jóanes Nielsen). Original title: Kirkjurnar á havsins botni
• Grå oktober, 1995 (crime fiction by Jógvan Isaksen)^[12] Original title: Gráur oktober (Gray October)
• Sting, 1998, (poems by Jóanes Nielsen). Original title: Pentur
• I morgen er der atter en dag (novel by Oddvør Johansen) - it was nominated to The Nordic Council's Literature Prize, first in 2000, but it was postponed to 2001. The book has not been published in Danish yet.
• Blodprøver, 2003 (poems by Tóroddur Poulsen)
• Hedder noget land weekend?, 2005 (play by Jóanes Nielsen)

Honours

• Statens Kunstfond^[13]
• Barnamentanarheiðursløn Tórshavnar býráðs in 1984^[14]
• Drassows Legat i 1992^[15]
• Mentanarvirðisløn Landsins Extraordinary cultural prize in 2001^[16]
• Lachmannska Priset i 2002
• Faroese Literature Prize (Mentanarvirðisløn M. A. Jacobsens) in 2006^[17]
• Faroese Cultural Prize in 2008
• Sømdargáva landsins 2012 (Faroese grant, DKK 20.000 will be given annually for the rest of her life. The grant was handed on 15 January 2013)^[18]

References