Jens Fink-Jensen

Infobox Writer
name = Jens Fink-Jensen


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caption = Jens Fink-Jensen in 2005
(photo by Anne-Mette Damon)
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birthdate = Birth date and age|1956|12|19|mf=y
birthplace = Copenhagen, Denmark
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occupation = Writer
nationality = Danish
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genre = Poetry
Short Story
Children's literature
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Jens Fink-Jensen (born Birth date|1956|12|19) is a Danish poet, author, photographer, composer and architect.

Biography

Jens Fink-Jensen was born Birth date|1956|12|19 in Copenhagen, Denmark. From 1968 to 1972 Fink-Jensen attended school in Store Heddinge where he was a classmate with the Danish poet Søren Ulrik Thomsen. [Askjær-Larsen, Lisbeth [http://www.bibliotek.stevns.dk/page1244.aspx "Om forfattere med tilknytning til Stevns: Jens Fink-Jensen"] , Stevns bibliotekerne, May 18 2007, retrieved=2008-09-15] Fink-Jensen debuted as a writer at the age of 18 when his short story, "Juni 1995 (June 1995)", was published in the daily newspaper "Information". [Jensen, Niels [http://www.litteraturpriser.dk/d.asp?type=aut&side=FJensFinkJensen "Jens Fink-Jensen"] , Danske Litteraturpriser, litteraturpriser.dk, (2008)] The following year, four of his poems were published in the Danish literary magazine "Hvedekorn". [Harv|Jensen|2008] Fink-Jensen graduated in modern languages from Herlufsholm Boarding School in 1976 and subsequently performed his national service with the Royal Life Guard where he trained as an NCO. He later earned a degree in architecture in 1986 from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen and a further education in multimedia design from the same Academy in 1997.

During the early 1980s, Fink-Jensen was part of a circle of young Danish poets which included Thomsen, Michael Strunge and the editor of "Hvedekorn", Poul Borum. In October of 1980, he helped arrange the "NÅ!!80" festival, a two-day art festival in Copenhagen that combined art, concerts, and poetry readings, and sought to introduce Denmark to what was called the "Nå" generation. [Sørensen, Ebbe Rossander [http://dvm.nu/hierarchy/periodical/mm/1980/07/?show=data/periodical/3/e/f/1980_07_04.tkl&type=periodical "Jens Fink-Jensen"] MM, 1980]

Fink-Jensen published his first collection of poems, titled "Verden i et øje (The World in an Eye)", in 1981. [Harv|Askjær-Larsen|2007] He followed with two more books of poetry, and then in 1986, he published the collection of short stories "Bæsterne (The Beasts)". [Harv|Jensen|2008] He has also written two children’s book in collaboration with the Danish illustrator Mads Stage: "Jonas og konkylien (Jonas and the Conch Shell)" and "Jonas og himmelteltet (Jonas and the Sky Tent)". The later, which relates the story of a young boy's fantastic experiences in a magical circus bigtop, has been described as Chagall-like poetry. [Sørensen, Henning Mørch, [http://www.information.dk/21097 "Bevægelser for børn"] , Information, July 14, 1998]

Performances

Jens Fink-Jensen performs at various venues such as music and literature festivals, high schools and libraries with his multimedia performance which combines poetry readings with music (synthesizer og saxophone) and slide show.

Exhibitions

Jens Fink-Jensen has had photo exhibitions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden:
*"Beijing Ansigt (Images of Beijing)", with portraits of people and places in the Chinese capital, distributed by Amnesty International.
*"Sydens Skibe (Ships of the South)", showing mostly small fishing-boats and related people and surroundings by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Coast of Europe and Morocco.

Publications

*"Verden i et øje, (The World in An Eye)", poetry, 1981
*"Sorgrejser, (Travels in Sorrow)", poetry, 1982
*"Dans under galgen, (Dancing Under the Gallows)", poetry, 1983
*"Bæsterne, (The Beasts)", short stories, 1986
*"Nær afstanden, (Near The Distance)", poetry, 1988
*"Jonas og konkylien, (Jonas and the Conch Shell)", children's book, 1994 (Illustrated by Mads Stage).
*"Forvandlingshavet, (The Sea of Change)", poetry, 1995
*"Jonas og himmelteltet, (Jonas and the Sky Tent)", children's book, 1998 (Illustrated by Mads Stage).
*"Alt er en åbning, (Everything is an Opening)", poetry, 2002
*"Syd for mit hjerte. 100 udvalgte kærlighedsdigte (South of my Heart. 100 selected love poems)", poetry, 2005

Translations

In 1999, his collection of poems "Nær afstanden (Near the Distance)" was published in Arabic, translated by Jamal Jumá (Alwah publishers, Madrid). A few of the poems had previously been published in the daily “Al-Quds” (London, 1996) and the periodical “Nizwa” (Sultanate of Oman, 1999). Iranian born poet Sheema Kalbasi, now living in the U.S.A., has translated poems by Jens Fink-Jensen into English and Iranian.

Honours

*"Danish Arts Foundation", 1982.
*"The Ministry of Culture's Commission for the Illustrated Danish Book", 1992.
*"The Danish Literature Council", 1997 and 1998.
*"The Danish Arts Council", 2007 and 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.jensfink.com Jens Fink-Jensen Online]
* [http://www.othervoicespoetry.org/vol29/fink/index.html Jens Fink-Jensen at The Other Voices International Project]
* [http://www.coast-line.eu Jens Fink-Jensen's The West Coast of Europe Website]