We recently connected with Jesper Soerensen and have shared our conversation below.

Jesper, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

My foundation for becoming a writer was laid by being first a passionate reader for a great many years before I put pen to paper at the age of thirty. The occasion was a short story contest in the magazine of my work union in my native Denmark. The prompt was to write about work, and it inspired me to write a story about someone being accidentally locked inside a freezer at a meat processing plant. I remember feeling shy about submitting the story, and as I dropped the envelope into the mailbox, I took some comfort in the fact that I would not be able to hear the editors laughing at my efforts. You can imagine my surprise when my story was among the five chosen for publication. I had mixed feelings of pride and embarrassment when the story came out, for I had not told a soul that I wanted to be a writer, and suddenly all my colleagues as well as people from my own family who were members of the same union saw my story in the magazine. At the same time, I was excited to see it in print with a wonderful illustration, and especially proud that my very first short story was chosen among almost three hundred entries. For this reason, I think the most essential parts of learning the craft of writing is to read omnivorously. Writing a lot is, of course, indispensable to learning the craft, but I think you have to be driven by a passion for reading literature if you want to be a writer.

This first experience in writing was crucial: Having my story published for everyone to see forced me to own up to my ambition of wanting to be a writer, and the confidence boost it gave me made me take that dream more seriously.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I moved from Denmark to the US in 2020 together with my husband, who got a job as a researcher with NOAA and the University of Colorado Boulder. While I was awaiting my work authorization, I wrote the major part of my first book, “Charles Dickens – The Stories of His Life,” which was published in 2023 by UK-based Olympia Publishers. It is a biography and an introduction to the works of Charles Dickens, who is my biggest inspiration as a writer. I have also written articles about some of Dickens’ novels on the Medium platform where I also republish some of my humor pieces.

It was not until I moved to the US and began writing in the English language that I got my work published in a variety of publications, from anthologies to literary journals and humor sites. Living in Denver, I found there a vibrant artistic community, and was honored as a newcomer to have my essay “Iconoclast” featured in the print anthology “We Are the West: Tributaries,” published by Denver-based indie press Twenty Bellows. Lately, I have gotten into humor writing, for which there are so many fantastic outlets here in the US, and that has been an exciting new journey for me as a writer.

After several years in Colorado, my husband and I have recently settled in Miami Beach with our two dogs. Having both lived most of our lives by the sea, we wanted to be in close proximity to the ocean, and we are looking forward to exploring our new surroundings and discovering the artistic communities in this beautiful place.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I find that there are two things that shine through in almost everything I write: one is my working-class background and the values that grew out of that. Through my writing, I want to give people my own perspective as an unskilled worker. The other is my sense of humor, which is both a strength and a hindrance. It is always a challenge to try to convince people that funny is not the opposite of serious. In fact, I would say that if a story rejects humor for the sake of “seriousness” or authenticity, the result is unnatural, for most human beings are humorous by nature, also in dreary or sad situations. I’m proud to have had some of my funnier essays published in publications that are not humor-oriented, but where the editors thought it added a balance to the more somber pieces. I think that humor is greatly underrated as a literary genre, and I would like to contribute to changing the perception that it is a trifling matter or something that is easily accomplished.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

When a stranger reads my work and takes the time to write me a kind comment is a wonderful feeling that always fills me with gratitude. Of course, the creative process is rewarding in itself – from the excitement of developing an idea to the sense of accomplishment one feels when it comes to fruition – but I think most creative people will agree that there is nothing like seeing your work out in the world and having people respond to it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://olympiapublishers.com/authors/jesper-soerensen
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soerensen.jesper/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soerensen.jesper/
• Other: https://medium.com/@soerensen.jesper

Image Credits

Fadil Inceoglu
Twenty Bellows