Unnur Benediktsdóttir Bjarklind (1881–1946) who wrote as Hulda (the fairy or hidden one)Tierney 1999:678. was an Icelandic poet and prose writer. A proponent of

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ism, she was the most prominent figure in a group of writers who revived and revitalized the '' þulur'' genre of oral litany. Having a librarian as a father Hulda received an extensive home education. She studied English, German and French as well as the Scandinavian languages, granting her access to the works of European writers. Among Icelandic poets she admired the rural poetry of

Eggert Ólafsson Eggert Ólafsson (1 December 1726 – 30 May 1768) was an Icelandic explorer, writer and conservator of the Icelandic language. He also worked to revive the Icelandic culture and economy. Background He was the son of a farmer from Svefneyjar in ...

and the lyrical quality of Benedikt Gröndal's works.Stefán Einarsson 1957:279-80. She began contributing poems to periodicals at the age of twenty and was quickly discovered by

Einar Benediktsson Einar Benediktsson, often referred to as Einar Ben (31 October 1864 – 12 January 1940) was an Icelandic poet and lawyer. Einar Benediktsson's poetry was a significant contribution to the nationalistic revival which led to Iceland's independenc ...

and

Þorsteinn Erlingsson Þorsteinn Erlingsson (1858–1914) was an Icelandic poet. He graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1883 and went to Copenhagen to study law. He never finished law school but during his time in Copenhagen his poems became known in Icelan ...

, who hailed her as a star of neo-romanticism. Her first volume of poetry, ''Kvæði'' (Poems; 1909) consists of lyrical nature poetry, contrasting the neo-romantic dream of freedom with the virtues of hard work while some metaphors suggest the oppressed condition of women.Tierney 1999:679. Despite delicate health and the duties of a housewife, Hulda was a prolific writer, publishing seven volumes of poetry, the last appearing posthumously in 1951.Stefán Einarsson 1957:280. One of her best known works is a patriotic poem written to celebrate the establishment of the Icelandic Republic in 1944. Hulda wrote more than ten volumes of prose; fairy tales, short stories and sketches as well as the two-volume novel, ''Dalafólk'' (People of the Valleys). She wrote the novel as a reaction to ''

Independent People ''Independent People: An Epic'' ( is, Sjálfstætt fólk) is an novel by Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness, originally published in two volumes in 1934 and 1935; literally the title means "Self-standing .e. self-reliantfolk". It deals with the st ...

'' by

Halldór Laxness Halldór Kiljan Laxness (; born Halldór Guðjónsson; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer and winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and s ...

. In contrast to Laxness' bleak view of rural life in Iceland, Hulda presents a somewhat idealized picture of the old manorlike farmsteads.

Notes

References

* Neijmann, Daisy L. (2007). ''A History of Icelandic Literature''. University of Nebraska Press. * Stefán Einarsson (1957). ''A History of Icelandic Literature''. New York. Johns Hopkins Press. * Tierney, Helen (1999). ''Women's Studies Encyclopedia''. Greenwood Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hulda Icelandic women poets 1946 deaths 1881 births 20th-century Icelandic poets 20th-century Icelandic women writers