Carl Erik Soya

Carl Erik Martin Soya-Jensen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on 30 October 1896, the son of the painter and professor Carl Martin Soya-Jensen. His parents died when he was a young boy. The inheritance he received provided Soya with financial independence and enabled him to pursue a career as a writer. In 1915, Soya entered the Metropolitan School in Copenhagen, and received his diploma the following year. He began his career as a freelance journalist for Vore Damer (Our Ladies) writing under the American pseudonyms Lillian D. Green, Martin Arrowhead, and Joseph W. French. In 1920, he changed his name to the single appellation, Soya.

Soya published his first book in 1923 – a collection of philosophical stories titled Kvinderne i Persien (The Women of Persia) – which revealed his satirical style and quickly earned him a reputation as a provocateur.[1] In 1929, Soya wrote his first stage play, Parasitterne (The Parasites), which was later produced at the Royal Danish Theatre in 1945.

Soya was the first Danish dramatist to attack fascism when he wrote the satirical farce Umbabumba skifter forfatning (Umbabumba changes its Constitution) in 1935. Then during World War II, in 1942, he wrote En Gæst (A Guest) another sharp satire aimed against the German occupation of Denmark, for which he received a 60-day prison sentence. In 1943, he continued his attack with the satire Min Farmors Hus (made into the 1984 film My Granny's House), and again Soya was sent to prison by the German authorities. After his release from the Horserød Work Camp, Soya went to the State Ministry and slapped the National Censor Karl Eskelund across the face.”[1] He then fled to Sweden.

Soya was a prolific writer and published in a variety of forms including novels, short stories, poems, stage plays, teleplays and collections of aphorisms. Several of his works have been adapted to screen including the 1965 coming-of-age sex comedy Sytten (Erik Soya's '17') and the 1948 romantic drama Jenny and the Soldier which won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. During his life, Soya was supported by more than 20 grants and prizes. In 1975, Soya was awarded the Grand Prize from the Det Danske Academi, the foremost literary prize in Denmark.

Soya was married in 1919 to Esther Sættem but they divorced two years later. He married a second time in 1925 with Agnes Augusta Zaar. He died on 10 November 1983 at the age of 87 and was buried in a common grave at Mariebjerg Church Cemetery in Gentofte, Denmark.[2]

Soya was the recipient of numerous monetary prizes. Among his greatest awards were a knighthood in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1948, the 1971 Ingenio et Arti Medal and the 1975 Grand Prize from The Danish Academy.[3]

• Den Danske Film Database (In Danish)

• Soya at IMDb
• Det Danske Fiminstitut