AAKJÆR, JEPPE

(1866-1930)

   A Danish novelist, short story writer, and poet, Aakjær hailed from western Jutland and retained a lifelong love for his home district. While living in Copenhagen in his youth, he acquired leftist social views, arguing against the power of the Danish state church and in favor of improving the conditions of life for rural laborers. The autobiographical narrative Bondens Søn (1899; The Farmer's Son) describes his loss of faith. Aakjær's novel Vredens Børn (1904; The Children of Wrath) is an impassioned plea in favor of improving the conditions of the farm day laborers; it is also a realistic description of their living conditions.

   Much of the inspiration for Aakjær's work came from his love of traditional rural Danish life. He viewed capitalism, including the capitalization of the farmland, as a threat to traditional values. He was also concerned about industrialization, which pulled people away from the rural areas to the urban centers. Aakjær belongs to a tradition in Scandinavian literature that is sometimes referred to as heims-taddiktning, a term that denotes both literary regionalism and a special attachment to one's home, which flourished during the first few decades of the 20th century. Aakjær's novel Arbeidets Glæde (1914; The Joy of Work) expresses his love for the cyclical life on the farm.

   Aakjær's love of Jutland also inspires his poetry, which is often eminently singable and has become an important part of the Danish cultural heritage. Two of his most important poetry collections are Fri Felt (1905; Free Field) and Rugens Sange (1906; The Songs of the Rye). Aakjær's short stories also deal with local themes and often have a strong admixture of the local Jutland dialect.