Böðvar Guðmundsson 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 born 9 January 1939; he grew up in
Borgarfjörður
Borgarfjörður () is a fjord in the west of Iceland near the town of Borgarnes. Although the waters of Borgarfjörður appear calm, the fjord has significant undercurrents and shallows. The many flat islands lying in the fjord are for the most ...
, specifically Kirkjuból í Hvítársíðu. He is known for plays, poetry, novels, and children's books. He is said to be best known for the novels ''Híbýli vindanna'' (1995; Where the Winds Dwell) and ''Lífsins tré'' (1996; Tree of Life) He has done numerous translations of writers such as
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...
and
Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Theodor Böll (; ; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972).
Bio ...
. He was a teacher and guest lecturer at the
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...
in the 1980s. He was at one time married to the Icelandic literary scholar
Helga Kress. He lives in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and is still writing.
Böðvar's most recent novels are the novel ''Enn er morgunn'' (
kranes Uppheimar, 2009; ; 9789979659730), his fourth, which is about Nazi sympathisers in Iceland around the Second World War and which led to controversy when Böðvar's ex-wife Helga demanded its recall, reading it as a personal attack on the reputation of her parents Bruno Kress and Kristína Thoroddsen;
and ''
Töfrahöllin'' (
kranes Uppheimar, 2012; ; 9935432742), his fifth.
See also
*
List of Icelandic writers
Iceland has a rich literary history, which has carried on into the modern period.
Some of the best known examples of Icelandic literature are the Sagas of Icelanders. These are prose narratives based on historical events that took place in Icela ...
*
Icelandic literature
Icelandic literature refers to literature written in Iceland or by Icelandic people. It is best known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As Icelandic and Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic wo ...
References
External links
Iceland literature siteHis own statements, from the same site
Bodvar Gudmundsson
Academic staff of the University of Bergen
1939 births
Living people
{{Iceland-writer-stub