Einar Már Guðmundsson (born 18 September 1954 in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

) is an Icelandic author of novels, short stories, and poetry. His books have been translated into several languages.

Background

Guðmundsson grew up in

. In 1979 he received his Bachelor of Arts at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

and history. He subsequently worked in the comparative literature department of the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

. Today, the author lives in Reykjavík, is married, and has five children.

Works

Einar's first book was poetry and his best-known work is his novel '' Englar alheimsins'' (''Angels of the Universe''), subsequently adapted as a film. * 1980: '' Sendisveinninn er einmana,'' poetry ( Gallerí Suðurgata 7, Reykjavík) * 1980: '' Er nokkur í Kórónafötum hér inni?,'' poetry (Gallerí Suðurgata 7, Reykjavík) * 1981: '' Róbinson Krúsó snýr aftur,'' poetry (

Iðunn In Norse mythology, Iðunn is a goddess associated with apples and youth. Iðunn is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri St ...

, Reykjavík) * 1982: '' Riddarar hringstigans,'' novel ( Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1983: '' Vængjasláttur í þakrennum,'' novel (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1986: '' Eftirmáli regndropanna,'' novel (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1988: '' Leitin að dýragarðinum,'' short stories (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1990: '' Rauðir dagar,'' novel (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1991: '' Klettur í hafi,'' poetry (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1992: '' Fólkið í steininum,'' children's book (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1993: '' Hundakexið,'' children's book (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1993: '' Englar alheimsins,'' novel (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík) * 1995: '' Í augu óreiðunnar: ljóð eða eitthvað í þá áttina,'' poetry (

Mál og menning Mál og menning ('language and culture') is an Icelandic publishing house, established in 1937. The press has published the work of many of Iceland's best known authors, among them Þórbergur Þórðarson, Jóhannes úr Kötlum, Svava Jakobsdó ...

, Reykjavík) * 1995: '' Ljóð 1980–1981,'' poetry (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 1997: '' Fótspor á himnum,'' novel (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2000: '' Draumar á jörðu,'' novel (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2001: '' Kannski er pósturinn svangur,'' short stories (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2002: '' Ljóð 1980–1995,'' poetry (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2002: '' Nafnlausir vegir,'' novel (Mál og menning, Reykjavik) * 2004: '' Bítlaávarpið,'' novel (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2006: '' Ég stytti mér leið framhjá dauðanum,'' poetry (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2007: '' Rimlar hugans,'' novel (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2009: '' Hvíta bókin'' (''The White Book''), essays (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2011: '' Bankastræti núll'' (''0 Bank Street''), essays (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2012: '' Íslenskir kóngar'' (''Icelandic Kings''), novel (Mál og menning, Reykjavík) * 2015: '' Hundadagar'' (''Dog-Days''), novel (Mál og menning, Reykjavík)

Awards and honors

*1995: The Nordic Council's Literature Prize for '' Englar alheimsins'' *1999: Karen Blixen medaljen from the

Danish Academy Danish Academy is an independent organisation founded in 1960 by a circle of Danish intellectuals "to promote Danish esprit and language, especially within the field of literature". It has up to 20 members, currently 18, and is based at Rungstedl ...

*2002: Riddarakross of Hin íslenska fálkaorða fyrir framlag til íslenskra bókmennta *2012: Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize for services to Nordic literature *2015: Íslensku bókmenntaverðlaunin for his novel '' Hundadagar''Kristján Guðjónsson, 'Þeir hljóta íslensku bókmenntaverðlaunin: Einar Már, Gunnar Helga og Gunnar Þór hljóta verðlaunin í ár', ''DV'' 10 February 2016, http://www.dv.is/menning/2016/2/10/islensku-bokmenntaverdlaunin-2015/ .

German language editions

*''Die Ritter der runden Treppe'' (''Riddarar hringstigans,'' 1982), Munich, Goldmann btb, 1999, *''Engel des Universums'' (''Englar alheimsins,'' 1993), Munich, Goldmann, Bd. 72514 btb, 2000, *''Fußspuren am Himmel'' (''Fótspor á himnum,'' 1997), Munich, Wien, Carl Hanser, 2001,

References

External links

Edda.isBokmenntir
*
– Einar Már Guðmundsson
(isl./engl.)
Zu seinem lyrischen Schaffen
(isl.) Gudmundsson, Einar Mar Einar Gudmundsson, Mar Einar Gudmundsson, Mar Gudmundsson, Einar Mar Nordic Council Literature Prize winners University of Iceland alumni University of Copenhagen faculty 20th-century Icelandic people 20th-century Icelandic poets {{Iceland-writer-stub