John Chr. Jørgensen: Leif Panduro. The production of a biography of a modern author

Leif Panduro was self-consciously aware that the Royal Library would be eager to obtain and preserve his letters. The letters he received he kept in a rough order, year by year, and sometimes he added brief notes of explanation when needed. Roughly iooo letters to Leif Panduro from about 500 individuals are now in the Manuscript Department of the Royal Library. In addition the Manuscript Department has registered c. 350 letters from Leif Panduro to other people. Others must exist in the possession of the recepients or their heirs. Leif Panduro's widow, Esther Panduro, has transferred the ownership of the collection to the Royal Library, but not the copyright.

Panduro did not begin to save his manuscripts until 1964, the year after he had received a literary prize (Kritikerprisen). Earlier he had even discarded rejected manuscripts: a novel in 1950 and a collection of poetry in 1954. But the manuscripts delivered (by the publisher) to the Royal Library are fair copies, typescripts, and thus without any particular interest to the literary researcher. The manuscript for one of his TV dramas, I Adams verden (In Adam's World) illustrates why he didn't expose his early versions to inspection. His method was simply to write and write, and then to cut and paste until he had polished away the excess. John Chr. Jørgensen, in collaboration with Leif Panduro's widow and publisher, has published a fragment of the novel Leif Panduro was working on when he died in 1977, not out of aesthetic, but scholarly considerations, which provides insight into Panduro's working methods.

The biographical research process depends on access to copyrighted source material, and permission to quote it - a question of confidence. The concerns of heirs lie in two areas: avoiding misrepresentation of unpublished works and avoiding economic losses through use of texts to which the heirs own the copyright. The two concerns apply equally to private papers: letters, diaries and documents. A third interest shows up here: the desire to avoid injury to third parties within the family or the intimate circle of the subject of the biography.

The source materials for a literary biography have to be gathered, or queriedforth from
the family, friends and other connections and sought out wherever they may be hidden. In

1984 when John Chr. Jørgensen began work on his Leif Panduro biography, little material from Leif Panduro belonged to the Royal Library. With the support of Panduro's publisher and widowjohn Chr. Jørgensen began to collect material. (It was agreed that as much as possible should go to the Royal Library). On the basis of the first letters and documents obtained, other possible sources were contacted among family, friends and acquaintances for interviews. The interviews themselves - a creation of useable source material - required extensive preparation and exercise of tact, respect and sympathy.

The collection phase must precede writing, but inevitably after starting the writing process, new materials continue to turn up and affect the progress of the work. John Chr. Jørgensen sorted and arranged his large quantity of notes and went off to Paris with his extracts, in part to research the one place outside Scandinavia to which Panduro had had a close relationship, and also to concentrate on the writing itself.

As might be expected, publication of the book produced material which ought to have been included in the biography. Its publication, on the 10 year anniversary of Panduro's death, resulted in considerable attention from the media and thus John Chr. Jørgensen was afforded an opportunity to reach a far greater circle than the research process ever could have. This gave numerous new leads, among the most surprising the discovery in a house once lived in by Esther Panduro's brother of 21 unknown, but excellent, short stories by Panduro written in the early and mid-1950'5.

Bruno Svindborg: Fuga: the collaboration between Ivan Malinowski and Dea Trier Mørch on a collection of poems

The common theme of Fuga (Fugue) is the wind, unseen yet visible in its effects. The physical expressions of the pictures alternate with thirteen poems of philosophical insights on themes of change, recognition of change, seeking unity out of the multitude, and again from unity the divisible.

The combined work of Ivan Malinowski and Dea Trier Mørch, Fuga actually represents the results of nearly 20 years of cooperation between the poet and the artist. Their friendship goes back to a meeting in Warsaw in 1964, where Dea Trier Mørch was studying art and Malinowski paid a visit as a member of a Danish literary delegation. Later Malinowski helped Mørch publish her first book of combined artistic and written impressions of a study period in Leningrad in the late 1960'5. She made the cover for a book of his poems, and produced a calligraphic selection of his poems, a visualization of the text without illustrations, as well as a later set of illustrations in 1971 to Malinowski's translation of Majakowskij's play: Væggelusen (The Bedbug).

Dea Trier Mørch suggested to Ivan Malinowski in 1984 that he write a long poem for which she would produce a set of pictures. She set to provoking Malinowski directly to depart from his clearly political line. The first step was a peom on the wind inspired by the Færoese poet William Heinesen's 85th birthday which Mørch approved. The two

moved through a process of reciprocal inspiration, provocation and criticism most of which was carried on by correspondence between Sweden and Denmark. As the poems took shape, Dea Trier Mørch considered what form her contribution should take; she no longer was interested in calligraphy but neither did Malinowski's by now abstract poems suggest naturalistically related illustrations. Malinowski did not share this view, but they agreed that Mørch should aim at counterillustrations, related but independent metaphors that intruded on the reader's grasp of the poetic image. Fixed, concrete images which were to show the opposite of wind and movement. She concentrated on the metaphorical phrases in the text: birds, insects, a snail, measuring instruments, modem tools of communication. The technique was to be linoleum prints. The choice of illustrations from the many Mørch produced was made in common, as was the layout. A later American edition (Curbstone Press, 1986) is the definitive one, due to a technical fault in the original.

Fuga was well received and viewed as an unusually thoroughly integrated artistic
expression. The dialogue expressed in the counterpoint between text and picture
provokes insight and recognition.

Ole Lange: The Kinch affair. H. N. Andersen and the doctored ØK accounts

In the years just prior to World War I one of the hush-hush topics in Danish business circles was the Kinch affair, a dispute between one of the most prominent businessmen in Denmark, H. N. Andersen, the founder of ØK (Det Østasiatiske Kompagni), and Emanuel Kinch, an earlier partner of H. N. Andersen in ØK's humble beginnings in Bangkok back in the 1890's. The actual issue in dispute was the extent of Kinch's responsibility for ØK's losses in Siam from 1897 to 1904 which had been covered up in ØK's official accounts. Kinch himself had been forced to leave the company and pay over half of his assets to ØK in 1904.

But in 1906 Kinch took up his case again, and demanded reparation and compensation.A voluntary, but binding, arbitration court was set up, the proceedings of which were to remain confidential. It was later followed by three libel cases, all of which produced source material on the otherwise inaccessible economic activities and accounts of ØK's first eight years. H. N. Andersen prevented the case from gaining public notice through his powerful contacts in the Copenhagen press, which led Emanuel Kinch to publish his side: his lawyer's (Ludvig Arntzen) plea from the libel case. Kinch also deposited 8 typed folio volumes at the National Archives and the University Library in 1913, which were transferred to the Royal Library in the 1920's (Manuscript Department.Additamenta 344-51 Folio). Ole Lange used this material in his book Den hvide elefant. H. N. Andersens eventyr og ØK 1852-^l4 (The white Elephant, H. N. Andersen's Adventures and ØK 1865-1914) (Copenhagen, 1986). In 1971 the Royal Library received 8 more bundles of Emanuel Kinch's papers related to the dispute with ØK, which further illuminate the Kinch affair. But since this new material was only

registered in the accessions catalogue, Ole Lange first became aware of its existence in the spring of 1987. The new material makes possible a more thorough documentation of the fluctuating principles and practice in H. N. Andersen's and ØK's accounting, as well as giving a clearer picture of the financing that helped ØK survive its early difficult years, and the last phase of the Kinch affair.

ØK expanded rapidly in its early years, and the company actually operated at a loss until 1906, also in Bangkok, which was assumed to be the source of its presumed prosperity. Losses were hidden and the accounts doctored even when 60% of the capital was lost in 1904-05. The company continued to pay 8% to the original investors. New capital was raised from investors on the basis of these accounts. This was possible because legislation in this area was virtually non-existent, nor were there any certified public accounting institutions. Another factor assuring ØK's survival was that a circle of powerful financiers were members of ØK's board of directors, and they made possible continued liquidity despite the hidden losses.

In three areas ØK's accounts for 1897-1905 were unreliable: 1) real losses were transferred to the next year's balance sheet as suspence interim accounts; 2) unrealistic improvements were made in economic results (stock was assessed at inflated values, non-existent stock was listed); 3) important elements were left out which affected the actual value of the company's assets and liabilities.

Much of the covered up losses stemmed from the Bangkok office headed by Emanuel Kinch, and he was blamed for this in 1904. However, H. N. Andersen's letters to Kinch from 1898 on make it clear that the office in Copenhagen knew about the poor results in Bangkok, and even gave advice on how to doctor the books. But in 1903-04 and 1909-1¹ ØK had another set of accounting principles when attempting to place the blame on Kinch.

The actual course of events in the dispute between Kinch and ØK can be briefly summarized. In the fall of 1904, with af threat of police action, Emanuel Kinch had been forced to take responsibility for the losses in Siam and turn over half of his assets to ØK. When his brother Frederik was exposed to the same treatment in 1905, he, however, resisted and obtained legal advice, upon which ØK dropped the issue. Inspired by this turn of events Emanuel Kinch went to the same lawyer, Ludvig Arntzen, and the result was the voluntary arbitration, which produced a judgement in 191^1. Kinch was found not to have intended to cheat ØK, but he did not receive monetary compensation for his assets. He also won libel suits against ØK executives in 191^2. To break the press silence Kinch and Arntzen then published Arntzen's plea from the libel case against ØK's chairman, Holger Petersen, in 1913, and sent it to all manner of prominent Danes from the King on down. In December 1913 an agreement was reached whereby ØK paid Kinch back the amount he had handed over in 1904, and Kinch recalled the remainder of his pamphlets.

Lars Peter Rømhild: The correspondance between Valdemar Vedel and Harald Høffding

The philosopher Harald Høffding (1843-1931) and the literary historian Valdemar Vedel (1865-1942) were both professors at the University of Copenhagen. Their long friendship is thoroughly documented in the many letters they wrote to each other, and that each saved, and which now are to be found in the Manuscript Department of the Royal Library. Høffding was a well-known philosopher among his contemporaries, but is perhaps remembered today primarily for having been a moderate humanist in opposition to the great radical of the day, Georg Brandes. But he was acknowledged to have been a great teacher. And it was in that role that Valdemar Vedel first met him; their relationship had for many years the character of teacher and devoted pupil. Vedel was steered through a law degree by parental direction, but his true interests lay in psychology, ethics and aesthetics, and he ended as a major literary historian. Both men had long academic careers followed by productive years as emeriti.

The correspondence in the early years often concerned Vedel's academic career, his prize essay in 1887, what direction his studies should take, his chances for various academic positions. Høffding gave tactical advice and encouragement and attempted supporting manuevers behind the scenes; Vedel lost out on a professorship in 1891, and had to wait until 1895 for a lecturer's position. Despite the support of Høffding and others, it was not until 1911 that Vedel finally obtained a professorship.

Vedel wrote literary articles for numerous publications, and had also written for the newspaper Politiken, but had a falling out in 1906-07 with its staff over its publication of personal attacks by Johannes V. Jensen. He expected Høffding to stop publishing in Politiken in support of Vedel and was disappointed when Høffding did not. The friendship was strong enough to survive this difference, which had its roots as much in the two men's temperaments, as their actual views on the issue.

In the sphere of intellectual interests Vedel achieved equality with his old teacher, and the two exchanged open commentary on each other's works as they appeared. Nor were they by any means always in agreement here, as both the letters and Vedel's published reviews of Høffing's work show. In Høffding's later years the two men became very close, and the sad course of Høffding's late second marriage brought them even closer together on the personal level. At the death of Høffding in 1931, Vedel both spoke at the funeral and wrote an obituary.

Bertil Nolin: The critic behind the mask. Georg Brandes as a diarist

The recent acquisition of Georg Brandes' diaries for the years 1913-27 by the Royal Library's Manuscript Department for the Brandes Archive completes its collection of Brandes' diaries from his youth to his old age. These late diaries are of particular interest since Georg Brandes' own autobiography, Levned I-111, only covers the period to 1890, and no satisfactory, thorough biography exists for the latter part of his life.

Georg Brandes' role of critic is that which dominates his diaries; they served a purely practical function in assisting him to keep track of the vast network of contacts he had all over Europe. The style of the diaries was set early in his life: between 1860 and 1877 Georg Brandes jotted down merely sporadic notes, but in Berlin from 1877, he switched to almost daily entries. Six subject areas dominate the contents of the diaries for 1913-27:

1) Georg Brandes' state of health and mind;

2) meetings with people;

3) letters received and answered;

4) books received and read, impressions of them;

5) his work;

6) gossip.

There are, however, gaps in this singular document of Scandinavian cultural history: both the scissors and the pen have been used to censor them. Georg Brandes' daughter, Edith Philipp, copied them, and in doing so left out names, and also clipped away or crossed out sections. Especially the names of women have suffered this fate.

Books to review or pass judgement on, articles or lectures to read or write, theater visits, all these are noted down, and often with summary judgements. The same fate awaited many of his personal visitors, or those with whom his contact was of a more formal nature.

A picture of whom among his immediate family and close friends were his actual intimates appears from the entries, as does the character of his relationships with his numerous women friends. Many of the latter began their long relationships with him as Georg Brandes' mistresses and passed at some point over to a more Piatonic friendship.

The radical line in culture for which George Brandes had fought in his youth was not the prevailing influence in Denmark and Danish culture in his old age. The diaries of his old age indicate how bitterly alienated he was from contemporary Danish cultural life, in which he was attacked, especially in religious circles. His farne and recognition abroad only heightened his sense of Danish antipathy towards what he represented. Excerpts from the diaries from 1913-1927 are given which are intended to be as representative as possible.