Benny Gade & Mediehuset Lemvig
Copenhagen-based author Niels Hav has published a new book featuring stories he has been collecting in his drawer for 35 years. “My short stories have a responsibility, and I felt they deserved to be published. This is the first collection of short stories I have written in 35 years,” says Niels Hav.
Originally from the village of Harboøre in Denmark, Niels Hav adds, ‘It’s a bit sad to have taken so long.’ The book, titled ‘Life and Love,’ contains a total of 14 short stories and has been subtitled ‘Independent Short Stories.’
Better known as a poet, Niels Hav made his debut as a short story writer in 1981, publishing three collections of short stories. These collections were often used in Danish language classes in schools, and some are considered modern classics of the Danish language.
Over the years, Niels Hav was also asked to write new short stories for anthologies, magazines and Danish Radio. This book brings together these scattered short stories, one of which is newly written. The first short story takes place in the cemetery in Harboøre, where Niels Hav’s father worked as a ‘grave digger’.
‘Cheminova’s founder, Gunnar Andreasen, is portrayed sympathetically. He was a good man. He certainly killed the fjord, but he didn’t do it deliberately,’ says Niels Hav, adding that everything he did for food production in the East and other parts of the world is still significant today.
In another short story, Niels Hav recounts the life of Ove Abildgaard, a poet descended from a wealthy merchant family in Lemvig, Denmark, who later settled in Copenhagen and became renowned as a great poet.
However, Niels Hav says he remains a Lemvigli at heart. The two short stories are exceptions, as the others are not based on historical figures. The collection covers many different topics. ‘That’s my writing style,’ says Niels Hav. His third short story, ‘Closing,’ was inspired by the region where he was born.
Niels Hav says that despite his theological education, he was inspired by the somewhat empty Hygum Missionshus: ‘That sad moment when you realise there is no basis for continuing to run a missionary house.’
Niels Hav
Born: 7 November 1949, Denmark – Lemvig.
Education: Studied theology at Aarhus University, 1970–1974.
First book: Impotence is Forbidden. Hekla, 1981. Collection of short stories.
Literary awards: The Danish Arts Foundation’s 3-year Working Grant, 1985. Skulderklaplegatet, 2020. The Danish Literature Prize, 2024.
Latest Danish publication: A Moment of Happiness, a book of poetry. Det Poetiske Bureaus Publishing House, 2020.
His new short story collection, Life and Love, was launched at an event at the LiteraturHaus in Copenhagen on 13 September 2025.
Niels Hav, whose poems were published by Scala Publishing under the title Sudden Happiness, recently visited Istanbul.
Photograph: Christina Bjørkøe