Þórarinn Eldjárn

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Þórarinn Eldjárn (b.1949) is one of Iceland's most admired authors and the recipient of many awards. A superb poet, he has tackled almost every genre since his debut in 1974. He has published numerous collections of poetry and children's verse, short-story collections and novels as well as translating fiction for adults and children from English and the Scandinavian languages. Among them are works by Strindberg, Ibsen, HC Andersen and Göran Tunström; Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland as well as Shakespeare's King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet for the National Theatre.

Þórarinn's novel Brotahofud (The Blue Tower) was shortlisted for the Aristeion 1998 – the European literature and translation prize, nominated to the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1999 and to the IMPAC Dublin award in 2001. Brotahofud has been published in English, Finnish, French, Danish and German translations.

 

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Works in translation

NOVELS

• Brotahöfuð (The Blue Tower), historical novel, Vaka-Helgafell, 1996

Denmark (Poul Kristensens Forlag, 2008), transl. Björn Sigurbjörnsson; Finland (Like, 1999), transl. Tapio Koivukari; France (Le Cavalier Bleu, 2003,) transl. Régis Boyer; Germany/Austria/Switzerland (Conte Verlag, 2011) transl. Coletta Bürling; UK (Mare's Nest, 1999), transl. Bernard Scudder

 

SHORT STORIES

• Die glücklichste Nation unter der Sonne. Geschichten von Island, short story collection, 13 stories: Der Klang der Wörter, Die Zauberformel, Die Taschenkrise, Der Besitzer, Eine kleine Flötenschule, Lachen erwünscht, Die Geisterstadt, Lulli und das Leitknäuel, Eines jeden Traum, Höhenflug, Urinium, Die Saga von den Siedlern in der Knüppelbucht, Die Hohnstange.Transl. Coletta Bürling

Germany/Austria/Switzerland (Conte Verlag, 2011)

 

• Des perles et du pain, short story collection, 10 stories: Le bruissement de l'aigle, Les perles de chez Hermann Kjögx sont les meilleures, Deux petites femmes de l'Est, T'es sûr que ça y est?, Tilbury, J'ai vécu, Simples malentendus, Le communiant qui n'en avait pas rien à faire, Quand les rêves se réalisent, Le bonhomme de pain, transl. Séverine Daucourt-Fridriksson

France (Presses Universitaires de Caen d'Etudes Nordiques, 2001)

• Aðsókn (Incursion), from the short story collection Ó fyrir framan (1992)

UK (Comma Press) anthology, 2021, transl. Phil Roughton

 

• Níðstöng (Scorn Pole), transl. Lytton Smith. In the book Out of the Blue: New Short Fiction from Iceland.

US (University of Minnesota Press, 2017) Editor: Helen Mitsios

 

• Í svip (Anblick) and Flökkusaga (Eine Wandergeschichte), transl. Anna Papke. In the book Gaben des Himmels, Neue Erzählungen zeitgenössischer isländischer Autoren. Editors: Hubert Seelow and Kolbrún Haraldsdóttir

Germany (Steidl, 2011)

 

• Ókvæða við (Rester interdit), from the short story collection Margsaga, 1985, transl. Régis Boyer

France (Les Belles Lettres, 2009), in the collection Trésor de la nouvelle de la littérature scandinave

 

• Arnsúgur (A Rush of Wings), transl. Martin Regal

US (McSweeney's. 15, editor: Dave Eggers, 2004)

 

• Í draumi sérhvers manns (Eines jeden Traum) and Die Taschenkrise, short stories, transl. Coletta Bürling

Germany, edition die horen (anthology: Wortlaut Island, 2000)

 

POEMS

• 7 poems: (Angelica Versallica, Excelsior, Great Beginning, Nails, Fairy Tale, Imagine, Sneaky), transl. Sola Bjarnadottir O'Connell, Anthology: Beneath the Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary Icelandic Poetry, editor: Helen Mitsios

US (Talismann House) 2014

 

• Góður gestur á Bakka (Guter Gast auf Bakki), Jakkaföt frá Gefjun (Jedermanns Anzug), from Ydd (1984), transl. Richard Kölbl, anthology: Isländische Lyrik

Germany (Insel Verlag) 2011

 

• Grannmeti og átvextir, a poem for children from Grannmeti og átvextir (Froots and Vegedibles) (2001): transl. Olga Holownia

UK (Walker) 2011, anthology (Pumpkin Grumpkin – Nonsense Poems From Around the World)  

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