Destruction and collection mania. Danish author archives

What is important to save for posterity? Starting from the anthology Danish author archives (2021), we delve into debates on Danish author archives. We will hear about the manuscript collection at the Royal Danish Library, which is the country's largest collection of archives by Danish authors.

However, it has not always been common practice to collect the papers of living or recently deceased authors. Based on the anthology Danish authors' archives (2021), debates and fights in the 20th century are presented. We will hear about the establishment of the Georg Brandes archive in 1912, which the world-famous Danish critic was quite reserved about, and about Johannes V. Jensen's great disgust for the "undertakers of literature". The author Peter Seeberg, on the other hand, wanted to create a "total archive" at Hald Hovedgård in Jutland, whereas the living poet Klaus Høeck systematically burns his manuscripts in his backyard on Funen.

Senior researcher Thomas Hvid Kromann from the manuscript collection talks about and presents selected authors' preserved manuscripts and letters from the manuscript collection, and about the sometimes quite curious finds that the archives hide: recently - quite surprisingly - an urn with ashes, a lock of hair and other earthly remains was found in the Brandes archive.