Enok Mortensen as a Danish-American

Authors

Erling Duus

Keywords

culture, folk-spirit, Grundtvigians

Abstract

Many years ago, Enok Mortensen wrote about the impact of the first singing of Kristian 0stergaard' s "Bag B0lgende Have" 1at a meeting at Nysted Folk School. For the first time, Danish-Americans had a song which moved beyond nostalgia to affirmation. It filled a need which had become powerful. It gave expression to the fact that the kind of rich cultural and spiritually generative Danishness which came to flower in the Grundtvigian movement had become implanted in the spaciousness of the plains and the prairies, and was transformed in this liberating new environment. This article 2 was characteristic of the work and vision of Enok Mortensen as a Danish American. We see him not merely identifying events, but creating a history and a mythology.

Recommended Citation

Duus, Erling (1987) "Enok Mortensen as a Danish-American," The Bridge: Vol. 10: No. 2, Article 15.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge/vol10/iss2/15