Carl Erik Soya
| Carl Erik Soya | |
|---|---|
| Born | Carl Erik Martin Soya-Jensen 30 October 1896 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | 10 November 1983 (aged 87) |
| Pen name | Soya |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Genre |
Novel, Short Story Stage play, Satire |
Carl Erik Soya, (30 October 1896 – 10 November 1983), also known by the single appellation Soya, was a Danish author and dramatist. His works were often satirical provocations against double-standards and dishonesty. In 1975, Soya received Denmark's foremost literary award, Grand Prize of the Danish Academy.
Carl Erik Martin Soya-Jensen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on 30 October 1896, the son of the painter and professor Carl Martin Soya-Jensen. His parents died when he was a young boy. The inheritance he received provided Soya with financial independence and enabled him to pursue a career as a writer. In 1915, Soya entered the Metropolitan School in Copenhagen, and received his diploma the following year. He began his career as a freelance journalist for Vore Damer (Our Ladies) writing under the American pseudonyms Lillian D. Green, Martin Arrowhead, and Joseph W. French. In 1920, he changed his name to the single appellation, Soya.
Soya published his first book in 1923 – a collection of philosophical stories titled Kvinderne i Persien (The Women of Persia) – which revealed his satirical style and quickly earned him a reputation as a provocateur. In 1929, Soya wrote his first stage play, Parasitterne (The Parasites), which was later produced at the Royal Danish Theatre in 1945.
Soya was the first Danish dramatist to attack fascism when he wrote the satirical farce Umbabumba skifter forfatning(Umbabumba changes its Constitution) in 1935. Then during World War II, in 1942, he wrote En Gæst (A Guest) another sharp satire aimed against the German occupation of Denmark, for which he received a 60-day prison sentence. In 1943, he continued his attack with the satire Min Farmors Hus (made into the 1984 film Grandmother's House), and again Soya was sent to prison by the German authorities. After his release from the Horserød Work Camp, Soya went to the State Ministry and gave the National Censor Karl Eskelund a “box on the ear.” He then fled to Sweden.
Soya was a prolific writer and published in a variety of forms including novels, short stories, poems, stage plays, teleplays and collections of aphorisms. Several of his works have been adapted to screen including the 1965 coming-of-age sex comedy Sytten (Erik Soya's '17') and the 1948 romantic drama Jenny and the Soldier which won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. During his life, Soya was supported by more than 20 grants and prizes. In 1975, Soya was awarded the Grand Prize from the Det Danske Academi, the foremost literary prize in Denmark.
...
Wikipedia