Davíð Stefánsson (21 January 1895 – 1 March 1964) was an
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and novelist, best known for his ten volumes of poetry.
He was born on 21 January 1895, in Fagriskógur,
Eyjafjörður
Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri.
Physical geography
The fjord is ...
, Iceland and he died on 1 March 1964, in
Akureyri
Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...
, Iceland.
Davíð came of a cultured yeoman family and was brought up with a love for his homeland, its literature, and its folklore. He frequently journeyed abroad but lived most of his life in the town of Akureyri, where he was a librarian (1925–52).
Novels and plays
In 1926, he wrote ''Munkarnir á Möðruvöllum'' ("The Monks of Möðruvellir") and in 1941, the powerful novel ''Sólon Islandus'' (I - II), a novel about Sölvi Helgason, a daydreaming 19th-century vagabond whose intellectual ambitions are smothered by society.
In 1941, he wrote the successful play, ''Gullna hliðið'' ("The Golden Gate") and in 1944, ''Vopn guðanna'' ("Weapons of the Gods") and in 1953, his play ''Landið gleymda'' ("The Forgotten Country").
Poetry
Davíð's early poetry, including most of his folk themes and love lyrics, appeared in:
*1919: ''Svartar fjaðrir'' ("Black Feathers")
*1922: ''Kvæði'' ("Poems")
*1924: ''Kveðjur'' ("Greetings")
*1929: ''Ný Kvæði'' ("New Poems")
They were combined and published as a collected volume in 1930.
His later poetry—darkening in social satire, reformatory zeal against capitalism and organized religion, and despair over the war—was published as:
*1933: ''Í byggðum'' ("Among Human Habitations")
*1936: ''Að norðan'' ("From the North")
*1947: ''Ný kvæðabók'' ("A New Book of Poems")
*1966: ''Síðustu ljóð'' ("Last Poems") (posthumously)
References
See also
*
List of Icelandic writers
Iceland has a rich literary history, which has carried on into the modern period.
Some of the best known examples of Icelandic literature are the Sagas of Icelanders. These are prose narratives based on historical events that took place in Icela ...
*
Icelandic literature
Icelandic literature refers to literature written in Iceland or by Icelandic people. It is best known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As Icelandic and Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic wo ...
Icelandic satirical poets
Icelandic satirists
Icelandic novelists
1895 births
1964 deaths
David Stefansson
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