Editing Johannes V. Jensen (section)

==Literary works==
[[File:Johannes V Jensen 1902.jpg|thumb|left|Johannes V. Jensen in 1902.]]
The first phase of his work as an author was influenced by ''[[fin-de-siècle]]'' [[pessimism]]. His career began with the publication of [[Himmerlandshistorier|Himmerland Stories]] (1898–1910), comprising a series of tales set in the part of Denmark where he was born. During 1900 and 1901 he wrote his first masterpiece, ''Kongens Fald'' (translated into English as ''[[The Fall of the King]]'' in 1933), a modern historical novel centred on King [[Christian II]]. Literary critic [[Martin Seymour-Smith]] said it is an "indictment of Danish indecision and lack of vitality, which Jensen saw as a national disease. Apart from this aspect of it, it is a penetrating study of sixteenth-century people."<ref>{{cite book |author=Martin Seymour-Smith |author-link=Martin Seymour-Smith |title=The New Guide to Modern World Literature, 3rd ed |year=1985 |page=1101}}</ref>

In 1906 Jensen created his greatest literary achievement:{{fact|date=October 2021}} the collection of verses ''Digte 1906'' (i.e. ''Poems 1906''), which introduced{{fact|date=October 2021}} the prose poem to Danish literature. He also wrote [[poetry]], a few plays, and many essays, chiefly on [[anthropology]] and the [[philosophy]] of [[evolution]]. His short story "Ane og Koen" ("Anne and the Cow") was translated into English by incarcerated author and translator [[Victor Folke Nelson]] in 1928.<ref name="COW">Hanna Astrup, ed. ''Denmark's Best Stories: An Introduction to Danish Fiction'' (New York: Norton, 1928)</ref>

He developed his theories of evolution in a [[novel series|cycle of six novels]], ''Den lange rejse'' (1908–22), translated into English as ''[[The Long Journey]]'' (1923–24), which was published in a two-volume edition in 1938.<ref>''Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901–1967'', Editor Horst Frenz, [[Elsevier]] Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1969.</ref> This is often considered his main work in prose, a daring and often impressive attempt{{according to whom?|date=November 2024}} to create a Darwinian alternative to the Biblical Genesis myth. In this work we see the development of mankind from the Ice Age to the times of Columbus, focusing on pioneering individuals.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Like his compatriot [[Hans Christian Andersen]], he travelled extensively; a trip to the United States inspired a poem of his, "Paa Memphis Station" [At the train station, [[Memphis, Tennessee]]], which is well known in Denmark. [[Walt Whitman]] was among the writers who influenced Jensen. Jensen later became an [[atheist]].<ref>Flynn, T. (2007). The new encyclopedia of unbelief. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. "Danish atheists include the authors...Johannes V. Jensen."</ref>