Jón Kjartansson (25 May 1930 – 13 December 2004), known as Jón frá Pálmholti, was an Icelandic writer, journalist and social worker.

Biography

Jón Kjartansson was born at the farm Pálmholt in by the

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on 25 May 1930. His parents were the farmer Kjartan Ólafsson and Þuríður Jónsdóttir. After studying at the Laugaskóli and Iceland College of Education, he worked as a teacher from 1955 to 1957 after which he worked various jobs in parallel to being a writer. From 1979 to 1989 he was employed by the city of Reykjavík as a social worker. Jón published his first poetry collection, ''Ókomnir dagar'', in 1958. He was considered one of Iceland's young modernist poets alongside

Þorsteinn frá Hamri Þorsteinn frá Hamri (aka Þorsteinn Jónsson), (15 Mar 1938 – 28 Jan 2018) was an Icelandic writer notable for having been nominated five times for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize over a period of 35 years. Writings Since his first book ...

and

Dagur Sigurðarson Dagur Sigurðarson (6 August 1937 – 19 February 1994) was an Icelandic poet, translator and visual artist. Family His maternal niece is Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the former Prime Minister of Iceland. Books * ''Shares in the Sunset'' - 1958 * ...

. Jón wrote more than 20 books, most of them poetry collections, but his best known works also include the 1965 novel ''Orgelsmiðjan'' and the 1979 children's book ''Ferðin til sædýrasafnsins''. His last book was the 2004 poetry collection ''Söngur í mannhafinu''. He was active as a translator and as a journalist, writing for various Icelandic newspapers and magazines. Socially engaged on behalf of low-income earners, he served as chairman of the Leigjendasamtakanna () from 1978 to 1985 and from 1989 to 2001. He was a board member of the () from 1962 to 1963 and from 1971 to 1973. He co-founded the

neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

organisation Ásatrúarfélagið in 1972 and was a member of its board until 1988. Jón had a daughter in 1959 with Steinunn Ósk Magnúsdóttir. In 1970 he married Ingibjörg Gunnþórsdóttir and they had a daughter and a son, born in 1968 and 1974. The marriage ended in divorce. Jón died in his home on 13 December 2004 at the age of 74.

Selected publications

* ''Ókomnir dagar''. Poems. 1958 * ''Hendur borgarinnar eru kaldar''. Poems. 1961 * ''Orgelsmiðjan''. Novel. 1965. * ''Blómin við gangstíginn''. Poems. 1967. * ''Tilgangur lífsins''. Short stories. 1968. * ''Vísur Æva Tobba''. 1972. * ''Undir hamrinum''. Poems. 1973. * ''Vindurinn hvílist aldrei''. Poems. 1978. * ''Ferðin til sædýrasafnsins''. Children's book. 1979. * ''Þak yfir engið''. Poems. 1980. * ''Heimsmyndir''. Poems. 1982. * ''Lífsgrundvöllur''. Poems. 1983. * ''Teigahverfin''. Poems. 1987. * ''Ljóð og tár, þýðingar á ljóðum kúrdíska skáldsins Goran''. Translation. 1991. * ''Brosið í augum fuglanna''. Selected poems, 1989–1992. 1992. * ''Hin eilífa nútíð''. Poems. 1994. * ''Söngvar um lífið''. Selected poems, 1958–1988. 1995. * ''Og þögnin getur sungið''. Poems. 2000. * ''Söngur í mannhafinu''. Poems. 2004.

References

1930 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Icelandic novelists 20th-century Icelandic poets 21st-century Icelandic poets Adherents of Germanic neopaganism Icelandic journalists Icelandic male novelists Icelandic male poets Icelandic modern pagans Icelandic translators Social workers Modern pagan poets Modern pagan novelists {{Authority control