Sørensen published his first collection of short stories, Strange Stories in 1953, which many critics have identified as being the start of Danish literary Modernism. He published additional collections of short stories in 1955 and 1964, all winning various awards in Denmark. These stories generally explored the absurd and hidden parts of the human psyche.
Sørensen began editing the journal Vindrosen (with Klaus Rifbjerg) in 1959. Afterward, he became a member of the Danish Academy in 1965, subsequently editing several other Modernist journals and periodicals. Sørensen, though he continued to produce short fiction throughout his life, was also deeply engaged in philosophy, about which he wrote many essays and several books including Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero and his response to Søren Kierkegaard's Either/Or, Hverken-eller (i.e. "Neither/Nor"). He also published books and essays about Nietzsche, Kafka, Marx, Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard, and was a notable translator of over 20 books. He was awarded the Grand Prize of the Danish Academy in 1962, The Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1974, the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1983, the inaugural Swedish Academy Nordic Prize in 1986, along with many other awards and recognitions. He died in Copenhagen in 2001.
Bibliography
Sære historier, 1953 - Strange Stories / Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories
Ufarlige historier, 1955 - Harmless Tales
Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories, 1957
Digtere og dæmoner: Fortolkninger og vurderinger, 1959
ed.: Begrebet Angest by Søren Kierkegaard, 1960
Hverken-eller: Kritiske betragtningen, 1961
ed.: Økonomi og filosofi by Karl Marx, 1962
Nietzsche, 1963
Formynderfortællinger, 1964 - Tutelary Tales
ed.: Haabløse Slægter by Herman Bang, 1965
ed.: Eventyr og historier by H.C. Andersen, 1965
ed.: Skuespil by William Shakespeare, 1966
Kafkas digtning, 1968
Schopenhauer, 1969
Mellem fortid og fremtid, 1969
Midler uden mål. 1971
Uden mål - og med, moralske tanker, 1973
Seneca, 1976 - Seneca: The Humanist at the Court of Nero
translator: The Book by Martin A. Hansen, 1978 (with Anne Born)
Oprør fra midten, 1978 (with Niels I Meyer and K. Helweg-Pedersen) - Revolt from the Center
Den gyldne middelvej, og andre debatindlæg i 1970erne, 1979
Vejrdage, betragtninger 1980
translator: The Dream of the Woman by Knud Hjortø, 1980 (with Anne Born)
Alladin, 1981 (with Errol le Cain)
Ragnarok, en gudefortælling, 1982 - The Downfall of the Gods - Ragnarök, jumalten tuho
Røret om oprøret, 1982 (with Niels I Meyer and K. Helweg-Pedersen)
translator: The Mountains by H.C. Branner (with Anne Born)
ed.: Kunsten og revolutionen by Richard Wagner, 1983
En gudedrøm, ballet for Nyt Danske Danseteater, 1984
translation: Skøn er krigen for den uerfarne (Dulce bellum inexpertis) by Erasmus Roterodamus, 1984
De mange og De enkelte og andre småhistorier, 1986
ed.: Tine by Herman Bang, 1986
ed.: Tunge Melodier by Herman Bang, 1987
ed.: Enten-Eller by Søren Kierkegaard, 1988
Demokratiet og kunsten, 1988
Tilløb: dagbog 1949-53, 1988
Den berømte Odysseus, 1988 (with Andy Li Jørgensen)
