  |
|
|
|
Karen Blixen - Out of AfricaDanish Author Isak Dinesen Known for Seven Gothic Tales
Brief biography of Danish writer Karen Blixen who wrote under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen.
Karen Blixen aka Isak Dinesen was the most famous of all Danish writers. She wrote gothic tales (Seven Gothic Tales, her first book) and African memoirs in English (Out of Africa.) Her last book was Shadows on the Grass. Karen Blixen Museum is in the outskirts of Nairobi on Karen road. Early LifeKaren Blixen (Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke), a Danish author, wrote under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen. She was born in Rungsted, Denmark on April 17, 1885. Her mother, Ingeborg Westenholz Dinesen, was a writer, and her father, Wilhelm Dinesen, was an army officer. Blixen started her education in Copenhagen's Royal Academy of Arts, and later educated in Italy, France, Switzerland and England. At 22, she started writing short stories. Seven years later, she married her Danish cousin Baron Bror von Blixen-Finecke, also a writer and a big game African hunter. Karen Blixen's Life in Kenya, East AfricaThe couple went to live on a coffee plantation in Kenya. Her life there is recounted in her autobiographical work Out of Africa, which was published when she was 52. It tells about her experiences as a coffee farmer in Kenya, revealing the sensitivity and depth of her love for the place. This highly successful book was the basis of a 1985 Hollywood Oscar-Award winning film of the same title starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack. Dinesen was undergoing unhappy times when she met and fell in love with English Denys Finch-Hatton, a game pilot. She divorced her husband but soon also lost her lover Finch-Hatton who was killed in a plane crash. Her troubles continued with another devastating loss when her farm failed commercially. Eventually she returned to Denmark to write. Dinesen's Writing CareerShe adopted the name pen name Isak Dinesen and chose English as her literary language although she also translated some of her works in Danish. Isak Dinesen's Books in English:
In The Angelic Avengers, Danish readers recognized it as a satire on Nazi-occupied Denmark. She returned to Kenya for inspiration in writing her last book Shadows on the Grass. From 1950, she then embarked on a series of romantic tales that won her worldwide recognition. Such stories concerned with the problems of personal identity and destiny. Babette's Feast with lighter and humorous touch also became a successful film. Rungstedlund Museum Dinesen lived most of her life at the family estate Rungstedlund located in Rungsted, 13 miles of Copenhagen. The place was acquired by her father in 1879. Most of her writing took place in Ewald's Room, named after author Johannes Ewald, 18th-century Danish national playwright and poet. Founded by the Blixen's family, the property is managed by the Rungstedlund Foundation. It was opened to the public as a museum in 1991. Karen Blixen's LegacyKaren Blixen died at the age of 77. The suburb of Nairobi where she made her home and her coffee plantation, was named after her. Nearby, is the Karen Blixen Coffee House and Karen Blixen Museum. Sources:Dictionary of Women's Biography, Comp. and Ed. by Jennifer Uglow (MacMillan, 1999) Dictionary of Writers, Ed. by Rosemary Goring (Larousse, 1994)
The copyright of the article Karen Blixen - Out of Africa in Great Writers is owned by Tel Asiado. Permission to republish Karen Blixen - Out of Africa in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
