Denmark Revamps Literary Canon to Promote Gender Balance

Denmark's literary canon was introduced in 2005 and received criticism already then for only including one woman, Karen Blixen, among the 14 authors.

For the new list, a committee, with a more even gender balance in mind, will appoint six to eight works that will become compulsory in teaching in Danish upper secondary schools. This means that the list of works that must be taught will become somewhat shorter than before.

A proposal for the new canon is to be presented no later than September 30 this year.

The committee will also compile an inspiration list with 25 to 30 Danish and Nordic authors, including those from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. From this list, Danish teachers must choose at least 12 authors to teach about.