Dan Turèll

Dan Turèll (March 19, 1946 – October 15, 1993), affectionately nicknamed " Danny" (English: Uncle Danny), was a popular Danish writer with notable influence on Danish literature. His work crossed a number of genres including autobiography, beat literature and crime fiction.

Turèll was born 19 March 1946 in Vangede on the outskirts of Copenhagen. Much of his works were partially autobiographical and inspired by his hometown, though is portrayal of Vesterbro is often considered romantic rather than realistic. His work often references themes Americanisation, drawing on the beat generation and the teachings of Donald Duck. Turèll published much of his material himself, especially early in his career. He wrote in both Danish and English and has been translated into Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish and Serbian.

He died from esophageal cancer and is buried at Assistens Cemetery. On Sunday March 19, 2006, on what would have been his 60th birthday, part of the town square of Halmtorvet in the Kødbyen area of Copenhagen was named (English: 'Uncle Danny's Square') in his honour. The square Dan Turèlls Plads in his native Vangede was named for him on 9 March 2007.

Selected bibliography

Dan Turèll was a highly prolific writer, contributing to numerous anthologies within his time and collections of his works continued to be arranged after his death. In addition to his literary work, he wrote a vast number of articles and essays for newspapers and various magazines. As a result, the following bibliography is in no way complete. Danish literary critic and writer, Lars Bukdahl, said that Turèll "only lived to the age of 47, and it is as though he knew he had to hurry".

Cut-up literature Changes of Light, 1970 Occult Confessions, 1970 Speed of Light, 1970. Opsvulmede byer i sigtekornet flagrende skud i bevidstheden (English: Inflated Cities in the Sight Fluttering Shots in the Consciousness), 1972. Sidste forestilling bevidstløse trancebilleder af eksploderende spejltricks igennem flyvende tidsmaskine af smeltende elektriske glasfotos (English: Last Performance of Unconscious Trance Images of Exploding Mirror Tricks through Flying Time Machine of Melting Electrical Glass Photos), 1972 Feuilleton 1: Faraway Signs (English: Serial 1: Faraway Signs), 1972 Feuilleton 2: Laser Time Switch (English: Serial 2: Laser Time Switch), 1972 Feuilleton 3: Filmen synker igennem Deres øjne (English: Serial 3: The Film Sinks Through Your Eyes), 1972 Feuilleton 4: The Edison Kinetogram (English: Serial 4: The Edison Kinetogram), 1972 Feuilleton 5: It's Just Another Whistle Stop (English: Serial 5: It's Just Another Whistle Stop), 1973 Feuilleton 6: Not Fade Away ... (English: Serial 6: Not Fade Away ...), 1973 Feuilleton 7: Deres kodeskrift under Dobbelt Sol (English: Serial 7: Your Cipher under Double Sun), 1973 Feuilleton 8: Strangers in the Night (English: Serial 8: Strangers in the Night), 1978

Novels Dét døgn, da - (English: That Day, When -), 1992

The Murder Series The so-called Mord-serie (English: Murder Series) consists of ten novels and two volumes of short stories in the "American" school of crime fiction, known from writers like Raymond Chandler. All twelve volumes follow the same protagonist, a nameless detective / reporter, a freelance writer for a fictitious Copenhagen newspaper, plainly called Bladet (English: The Paper). In each novel the protagonist is hurled into a new murder mystery, often along recurring characters, centrally among them Politiinspektør Ehlers (English: Chief Inspector Ehlers). The stories are self contained, but settings, relations, and characters evolve as the series progress.

The series primarily takes place in an alternate version of the borough of Vesterbro in Copenhagen, which serves as a backdrop for considerably more criminal endeavours than real life will probably ever match. Also certain aspects of the city's geography has been altered. Certain streets lie differently, for instance.

Mord i mørket (English: Murder in the Dark), 1981 Mord i Rodby (English: Murder in Rodby), 1981 Mord ved Runddelen (English: Murder by the Circle), 1983 Mord på Malta (English: Murder on Malta), 1983 Mord i marts (English: Murder in March), 1984 Mord i september (English: Murder in September), 1984 Mord i myldretiden (English: Murder during Rush Hour), 1985 Mord på møntvaskeriet og andre kriminalhistorier (English: Murder in the Launderette and Other Crime Stories), short stories, 1986 Mord i rendestenen (English: Murder in the Gutter), 1987 Mord i Paradis (English: Murder in Paradise), 1988 Mord på medierne (English: Murder on the Media), 1988 Mord på markedet (English: Murder on the Market), 1989 Mord i San Francisco (English: Murder in San Francisco), 1989

Poetry Vibrationer (English: Vibrations), 1966 40 ark (English: 40 Sheets), 1969 40 linier (English: 40 Lines), 1969 Manuskripter I: Øjne/Further instructions (English: Manuscripts I: Eyes/Further Instructions), 1970 Manuskripter II: Af beskrivelsen af det/Hvidt lys (English: Manuscripts II: From the Description of It/White Light), 1970 Manuskripter om hvad som helst (English: Manuscripts about anything), 1971. Bevægelser, formålsløst cirklende (English: Movements, pointlessly circling), 1971 Dobbeltskrift (English: Double Writing), 1973 – with Peter Laugesen Onkel Danny's dadaistiske discjockey djellaba jazzjungle joysticks (English: Uncle Danny's Dadaistic Disc-Jockey Djellaba Jazz-Jungle Joysticks), 1973 Sekvens af Manjana – den endeløse sang flimrende igennem hudens pupiller (English: Sequence of Manjana, the Endless Song Flickering through the Pupils of the Skin), 1973 Lissom (English: Like), 1973 Digte m. m. (English: Poems and more), 1973 – with Peter Laugesen, Jens Smærup Sørensen, & Henning Mortensen Onkel Danny's drivende dansende dirrende dinglende daskende dryppende danske dåse-digte (English: Uncle Danny's Driving Dancing Dithering Dangling Dawdling Dripping Danish Dried Poems), 1974 Onkel Danny's deliristiske jukebox jitterbug (English: Uncle Danny's Delirious Jukebox Jitterbug), 1974 Karma Cowboy (English: Karma Cowboy), 1974; shortened version released in 1983 Drive-in digte: non-stop neon-nat lys-avis (English: Drive-In Poems: Non-Stop Neon-Night Electric Newspaper), 1976 Nytår i Rom (English: New Year in Rome), 1976 Live-show feed-back: 5 sæt af Bøgernes Bog (English: Live-Show Feed-Back: 5 Sets of the Book of Books), 1976 3-D digte (English: 3-D Poems), 1977 Storby-Blues (English: Big City Blues), 1977 Vesterbrobilleder (English: Images of Vesterbro), 1977 – with photos by Kurt Lesser Onkel Danny's små sorte sitrende swingende saxsoli sæbeboble-sange (English: Uncle Danny's Small Sable Shuddering Swinging Sax Solos Soapbubble Songs), 1978 Onkel Danny's rullende rallende regnvejrs ragtime rhapsodi (English: Uncle Danny's Rolling Rollicking Rainstorm Ragtime Rhapsody), 1979 Døgn-digte: udvalgte digte fra 70'erne (English: 24 Hour Poems: Selected Poems from the 70s), 1979 Ulysses' spejl (English: Ulysses' Mirror), 1981 – with Henrik Nordbrandt, illustrated by Barry Lereng Wilmont Alhambra blues (English: Alhambra Blues), 1983 Kom forbi: sange & recitationer (English: Drop By: Songs & Recitals), 1984 Jazz-digte: et udvalg 1966–1986 (English: Jazz Poems: A Selection 1966–1986), 1986 – illustrated by Peter Hentze Forklædt til genkendelighed: sange, digte & recitationer (English: Recognizably Disguised: Songs, Poems & Recitals), 1988 Himalaya Hilton (English: Himalaya Hilton), 1991 Gud & Gokke (English: The Lord & Hardy), 1992 Tja-a Cha-Cha (English: Tja-a Cha-Cha), 1993 Udvalgte digte 1: 1969–1974 (English: Selected Poems 1: 1969–1974), 2003 Udvalgte digte 2: 1973–1993 (English: Selected Poems 2: 1973–1993), 2004

Prose Områder af skiftende tæthed og tomhed (English: Areas of Alternating Density and Void), 1970 Film (English: Film), 1973 – with Henrik Have Vangede billeder (English: Images of Vangede), memoirs, 1975 Ezra Pound/William S. Burroughs/Lou Reed: 3 medie-montager (English: Ezra Pound/William S. Burroughs/Lou Reed: 3 Media Montages), 1975 Rockens rødder. Medie-montager II (English: The Roots of Rock. Media Montages II), 1975 SuperShowStjerneStøv. Medie-Montager III (English: SuperShowStarDust. Media Montages III), 1976 Onkel Danny fortæller (English: Uncle Danny Relates), memoirs, 1976 Af Livets Laboratorium. Medie-Montager IV (English: From the Lab of Life. Media Montages IV), 1977 MenneskeMyteMaskinen. Medie-Montager V (English: ManMythMachine. Media Montages V), 1977 Livets karrusel (English: The Merry-Go-Round of Life), 1977 Onkel Danny fortæller videre (English: Uncle Danny Relates Further), memoirs, 1978 Onkel Sams sønner. Medie-Montager VI (English: Uncle Sam's Sons. Media Montages VI), 1978 Alverdens vampyrer: første forestilling på Grusomhedens Teater eller En idés rejse fra 5000 f. Kristus til i dag (English: All the World's Vampires: First Performance of the Theatre of Cruelty or The Journey of an Idea from 5000 b. Christ until Today), 1978 Amerikanske ansigter: udvalgte artikler fra 70'erne (English: American Faces: Selected Articles from the 70's), 1979 Møde i Garda: en fortælling i forbigående (English: Meeting in Garda: A Story in Passing), 1979 Dan Turèll i byen: 50 historier af Københavns-krøniken fortalt fra dag til dag (English: Dan Turèll on the Town: 50 Stories from the Copenhagen Chronicle told from Day to Day), 1979 – illustrated by Peder Nyman Onkel Danny fortæller i timevis (English: Uncle Danny Relates for Hours on End), 1979 Dan Turèll – et udvalg omkring en generation (English: Dan Turèll – A Selection About a Generation), 1981 Onkel Danny fortæller på talløse opfordringer (English: Uncle Danny Relates by Countless Requests), memoirs, 1982 Dan Turèll i byen igen: 50 historier af Københavns-krøniken fortalt fra dag til dag (English: Dan Turèll on the Town Again: 50 Stories from the Copenhagen Chronicle told from Day to Day), 1982 – illustrated by Peder Nyman Omkring på Brevduebanen (English: Around at the Carrier Pigeon Track), 1982 Dansk dragefestival 1964–1984 (English: Danish Kite Festival 1964–1984), 1984 – with Bjarne Lynnerup Sort film: en privat dagbog omkring kriminalgenren (English: Film Noir: A Private Journal about the Crime Genre), 1984 Shu-Bi-Dua – melodierne, teksterne, historien (English: Shu-Bi-Dua – the Melodies, the Lyrics, the Story), 1984 – essay by Turèll, note sheets and lyrics by Shu-Bi-Dua Dan Turèll i byen så det basker: 50 historier af Københavns-krøniken fortalt fra dag til dag (English: Dan Turèll on the Town with a Vengeance: 50 Stories from the Copenhagen Chronicle told from Day to Day), 1985 – illustrated by Peder Nyman Don Dobbeltliv og andre historier fra Stjernecaféen (English: Don Double-Life and Other Stories from Star Café), short stories, 1985 Nekrolog – blues for -- (English: Necrologue – Blues for --, 1987 – illustrated by Peter Hentze Blues for Buddha (English: Blues for Buddha), 1988 – illustrated by Peter Hentze Dan Turèll i byen – i dén grad!: 50 historier af Københavns-krøniken fortalt fra dag til dag (English: Dan Turèll on the Town – and how!: 50 Stories from the Copenhagen Chronicle told from Day to Day), 1988 – illustrated by Peder Nyman As time goes by – :klip fra den fortsatte scrap-bog (English: As Time Goes By -: Cuts from the Continued Scrapbook), 1989 Dan Turèll i byen – og i baggårdene: 50 historier af Københavns-krøniken fortalt fra dag til dag (English: Dan Turèll on the Town – and in the Backyards: 50 Stories from the Copenhagen Chronicle told from Day to Day), 1991 Undervejs med Copenhagen All Stars: et jazzband på turné i Danmark (English: On the Road with Copenhagen All Stars: A Jazzband on Tour in Denmark), 1991 Dan Turèll i byen – for sidste gang: 37 historier af Københavns-krøniken fortalt fra dag til dag (English: Dan Turèll on the Town – One Last Time: 37 Stories from the Copenhagen Chronicle told from Day to Day), 1994 Just a gigolo: klip fra den store scrap-bog 1989–93 (English: Just a Gigolo: Cuts from the Great Scrapbook 1989–93), 1995 En nat ved højttaleren med sprogets mikrofon: rariteter, 1964–79 (English: A Night by the Speaker with the Mic of Language: rarities, 1964–79), 2003 Medie-montager: greatest hits (English: Media Montages: Greatest Hits), 2003 Charlie Parker i Istedgade: tekster om jazz (English: Charlie Parker in Istedgade: Texts about jazz), 2006

Spoken Word Recordings Dansk tale: to monologer (English: Danish Speech: Two Monologues), MC, 1981 Dan Turèll & Sølvstjernerne (English: Dan Turèll & the Silver Stars), LP, 1991; CD, 1993 – with music by Sølvstjernerne Pas på pengene! (English: Watch the Money), CD, 1993 – with music by Halfdan E Glad i åbningstiden (English: Happy During Opening Hours), CD, 1996 – with music by Halfdan E Dan Turèll & Sølvstjernerne vender tilbage (English: Dan Turèll & the Silver Stars Return), CD, 2004 – with music by Sølvstjernerne

Works in English

The Total-Copy System, poetry, 1971. A Draft of XXX Space Cantos, crossover poetry, 1972 Here Comes Your 19th Nervous Breakdown/Stones: Last Words 1972, poem, 1973 Another Draft of Space Cantos, crossover poetry, 1974 A Third Draft of Space Cantos, crossover poetry, 1974 Feuilleton 8: Strangers in the Night (English: Serial 8: Strangers in the Night), 1978 And all that jazz: Copenhagen Jazz Festival (English: And All That Jazz: Copenhagen Jazz Festival), photobook; text in both Danish and English – photos by Gorm Valentin

Adaptations His novels, Mord i mørket (English: Murder in the Dark) and Mord i Paradis (English: Murder in Paradise) both from 1981 were made into film in 1986 and 1988 respectively. In 2006 a musical theatre production, Onkel Danny, was made about his life.