Icelandic poetry in India
Poems by Gerður Kristný and Sigurður Pálsson translated into Hindi and Bengali
Publisher Ögurstund-Forlag recently arranged for the publication of two volumes of Icelandic verse in India: each is a collection of 24 poems, by Gerður Kristný and Sigurður Pálsson respectively. They are published in Hindi and Bengali in collaboration with Indian publishing house Rajkamal Prakashan.
This is the first publication of its kind: no Icelandic writer's work is known to have been translated into Hindi before. Gerður Kristný's poetry book has the title New Year's Morning (Naye Warsh Ki Subah in Hindi, Notun Bachharer Sakal in Bengali), Sigurður's Heartbeat (Dhadkan in Hindi, Hritspandan in Bengali).
The publication of the books has arisen from Gerður's and Sigurður's participation in the fourth World Poetry Conference in Kolkata, India in January 2009. After the conference, Ögurstund decided to undertake the publication, in collaboration with Geetesh Sharma, one of the leaders of the International Bengali Poetry Festival. The poems were translated by two poets: Kusum Jain translated into Hindi and Kheya Sarkar into Bengali.