50Living in Lolland with no chil-
dren around, I played music and
looked after our hedgehog, whose
family had been eaten by our dog.
At one point, our dog, before we got
rid of him, started killing chickens,
piglets, hedgehogs. We also had a
turtle, rabbits, cats, and an owl, and
a gigantic pig that used to come and
go through our garden.
I chose music because neither
of my parents worked in music. If I
were to write or sculpt, I would just
be the next generation writer or
sculptor. You know, the carpenter’s
son becomes the carpenter, and the
electrician’s daughter becomes the
electrician and so on. So I started
with classical music.
In 1977, my father got a
grant to work in Italy. He wasan acknowledged artist by then
with a large back catalogue. My
mother joined him, but I stayed
in Copenhagen. When I was 18, I
got this flat I’m living in now. So I
moved to Copenhagen, and stayed,
visiting my parents in Italy for long
stretches, but always returning to
this apartment. I started playing
music professionally and made an
album with a band that was released
in 1982.
My parents remained in Italy for
seven years. I visited them often -
sometimes in the spring, sometimes
in autumn. In the mornings, I went
to language school - it was just me
and a housewife who attended the
lessons. Learning Italian enabled me
to go to concerts and meet people,
and when I finished school, I decid-ed to study Italian at university. I
studied for five years, but never grad-
uated. I sat some exams, but never
got a degree. In 1985, I decided to
drop out of university. I just knew I
was never going to translate; I was
never going to be a teacher; I’d nev-
er be a researcher, or a scientist, so I
didn’t need a degree. I didn’t panic,
because those days were different.
You didn’t need a degree to get a job.
It’s not like that today.
I didn’t want to have children be-
cause I didn’t want to be distracted.
I wanted to live on my own terms.
I’ve had two serious relationships in
my life, and we’ve lived like married
couples, but never exchanged vows.
Nobody marries nowadays, well,
that is, speaking of my generation.
With my second husband, we are50 LETTERS FROM COPENHAGEN PortraitsLiving in Lolland with no chil-
dren around, I played music and
looked after our hedgehog, whose
family had been eaten by our dog.
At one point, our dog, before we got
rid of him, started killing chickens,
piglets, hedgehogs. We also had a
turtle, rabbits, cats, and an owl, and
a gigantic pig that used to come and
go through our garden.
I chose music because neither
of my parents worked in music. If I
were to write or sculpt, I would just
be the next generation writer or
sculptor. You know, the carpenter’s
son becomes the carpenter, and the
electrician’s daughter becomes the
electrician and so on. So I started
with classical music.
In 1977, my father got a
grant to work in Italy. He was
an acknowledged artist by then
with a large back catalogue. My
mother joined him, but I stayed
in Copenhagen. When I was 18, I
got this flat I’m living in now. So I
moved to Copenhagen, and stayed,
visiting my parents in Italy for long
stretches, but always returning to
this apartment. I started playing
music professionally and made an
album with a band that was released
in 1982.
My parents remained in Italy for
seven years. I visited them often -
sometimes in the spring, sometimes
in autumn. In the mornings, I went
to language school - it was just me
and a housewife who attended the
lessons. Learning Italian enabled me
to go to concerts and meet people,
and when I finished school, I decid-ed to study Italian at university. I
studied for five years, but never grad-
uated. I sat some exams, but never
got a degree. In 1985, I decided to
drop out of university. I just knew I
was never going to translate; I was
never going to be a teacher; I’d nev-
er be a researcher, or a scientist, so I
didn’t need a degree. I didn’t panic,
because those days were different.
You didn’t need a degree to get a job.
It’s not like that today.
I didn’t want to have children be-
cause I didn’t want to be distracted.
I wanted to live on my own terms.
I’ve had two serious relationships in
my life, and we’ve lived like married
couples, but never exchanged vows.
Nobody marries nowadays, well,
that is, speaking of my generation.
With my second husband, we areLETTERS FROM COPENHAGEN Portraits