Gyrðir receives Nordic Council Literature Prize

7. November, 2011

“When I was a teenager reading The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas and The Good Hope by William Heinesen, little did I suspect that I would stand here, in the footsteps of these wonderful authors, and of others who have received this prize,” said author Gyrðir Elíasson upon receiving the Nordic Council Literature Prize, at a ceremony in the Royal Danish Academy of Music on November 2.

In April, it was announced that Gyrðir would receive the award for his short story collection Between the Trees (orig. Milli trjánna), which has already been published in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and is slated for publication in France as well.

“Coexisting with land and nature, people and animals, is equally important to the education that modern urban societies offer, and upon closer reflection, all true education is based on these things, even today,” Gyrðir said in his acceptance speech. “When urban societies have completely forgotten their origins, there will be trouble. Beneath all this concrete, there is still dirt. I hope that that the world of technology and so-called progress will never completely overshadow the vitality inherent in fiction and poetry, a vitality related to the earth itself.”

Three books by Gyrðir were published in German during Iceland's year as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair: the poetry book A Few General Remarks on the Cooling of the Sun(orig. Nokkur almenn orð um kulnun sólar) and the novels Wandering Squirrel (orig. Gangandi íkorni) and The Book of Sandá River (orig. Sandárbókin).

^{Photo: NN - norden.org}