SORENSEN, VILLY

born Jan. 13, 1929, Copenhagen influential writer of modernist short stories and also a leading literary critic in Denmark after World War II. His first collection of short stories, Saere historier (Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories) appeared in 1953, followed in 1955 by Ufarlige historier (Harmless Stories) and in 1964 by the important collection Formynderfortaellinger (Guardian Stories). His short stories are experimental and often draw their material from the Bible, legends, ballads, and world history in general. Srensen employs the naive manner of Hans Christian Andersen and allegorical tales like those of Isak Dinesen to describe the absurdity that threatens human existence. He often treats the themes of the divided self and the loneliness of the individual in society. His stories and books exemplify in artistic form the theories of his philosophical writings, Digtere og daemoner (1959; Poets and Demons) and Hverken-eller (1961; Neither-Nor). Srensen was strongly influenced in his thinking by German Existentialism, in particular the writings of Martin Heidegger. Srensen served as one of the editors of Vindrosen (195963).