Þórarinn Eldjárn (born 22 August 1949) is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic writer, particularly well known in Iceland for his humorous poetry books for children.

Life and work

Þórarinn is the son of

Kristján Eldjárn Kristján Eldjárn (; 6 December 1916 – 14 September 1982) was the third president of Iceland, serving from 1968 to 1980. Biography Kristján was born in Tjörn, Svarfaðardal, Iceland. His parents were Þórarinn Kr. Eldjárn, a teacher in ...

, the third

president of Iceland The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, bu ...

(in office from 1968 to 1980). He studied at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

and the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) 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' school to a modern co ...

. He has written numerous poems, stories, and novels. He has also translated several books into Icelandic, including

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

. In addition, he has produced a number of children's poetry books, seemingly somewhat inspired by the works of

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

in 2001. Locally he is well known and respected for his short stories (most often offering humorous social satire), and his equally humorous and witty poetry, such as his "Disney Rhymes" (1974) - The

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

Story presented as an epic tale in the ''

rímur In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poetry, epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterative verse, alliterate and consist of ...

'' fashion. In 2008, the Icelandic publishing house Vaka-Helgafell, released the entire collection of his poetry which instantly became a best seller. Þórarinn has five sons: Kristján Eldjárn guitarist (1972–2002), Ólafur Eldjárn (1975–1998), Úlfur Eldjárn composer, Ari Eldjárn comedian and Halldór Eldjárn of the band '' Sykur''.

External links

Iceland literature site on Þórarinn
"Poet of the Month", at the Icelandic schools' site, Skólavefurin: short biography and some poems, with readings by the author.

A satirical short story by Þórarinn in which a real Viking arrives in present-day Iceland and tries to settle there. Thorarinn Eldjarn Living people 1949 births Thorarinn Eldjarn Thorarinn Eldjarn Thorarinn Eldjarn Thorarinn Eldjarn 20th-century Icelandic male writers Thorarinn Eldjarn Thorarinn Eldjarn Thorarinn Eldjarn Children of presidents Icelandic short story writers Icelandic humorous poets Icelandic satirical poets Icelandic satirists Icelandic children's poets {{Iceland-writer-stub