Bjarni Harðarson (born 25 December 1961 in Arnýjarhús,
Hveragerði
Hveragerði (, "hot-spring yard") is a town and municipality in the south of Iceland, 45 km east of Reykjavík on Iceland's main ringroad, Route 1 (Iceland), Route 1. The river Varmá runs through the town.
Overview
The surrounding area ...
) is a bookseller, novelist, and former MP from the
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
Active parties
* Progressive Party, Brazil
* Progressive Party (Chile)
* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
* Progressive Party (Iceland)
* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
.
Election and resignation
Bjarni was elected to parliament in 2007 as the eighth MP from the
South Constituency
South ( is, Suður) is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established as Southern ( is, Suðurland) in 1959 following the nationwide extension of proportional repr ...
. On November 10, 2008, he was involved in a
political scandal
In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, uneth ...
; when he mistakenly leaked a document of his that contained strong criticism of
Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, vice chairman of the Progressive Party, by emailing it to the press. The day after, Bjarni
resigned
Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
from parliament.
2009 election
In the 2009 election, Bjarni ran as a candidate for the
L-List of Sovereignty Supporters
The Sovereign Union ( Icelandic: ''Samtök Fullveldissinna'') is an Icelandic political organization founded on 12 May 2009. Sometimes it is also referred to as the Coalition for the Sovereignty of Iceland, and during the four months from Januar ...
. He did not win a seat in the Althing; his previous constituency was taken by
Margrét Tryggvadóttir.
Literary activities
Bjarni and his wife Elín Gunnlaugsdóttir (composer and poet) run Bókakaffið (https://www.bokakaffid.is/), a legendary bookshop in
Selfoss which opened on October 6, 2006, and an outlet with the same name in Ármúli in Reykjavík. The two shops specialise in the sale of new and used books. The ever-growing publishing arm of Bókakaffið is Sæmundur (formerly Sunnlenska bókaútgáfan), boasting of a catalogue of more than 200 books.
Bjarni has published numerous novels, including:
* ''Mörður'' (Selfoss: Sæmundur, 2014),
* ''Mensalder'' (Selfoss: Sæmundur, 2012), ; 9935901491
* ''
Sigurðar saga fóts: Íslensk riddarasaga'' (Selfoss: Sæmundur, 2010), ; 9789935901439
* ''Svo skal dansa: skáldsaga úr veruleikanum'' (Reykjavík: Veröld, 2009), ; 9979789565
He has also published on folklore, and a collection of articles:
* ''Farsældar Frón: greinasafn Bjarna Harðarsonar'' (Selfoss: Sunnlenska bókaútgáfan, 2008) ; 997996037X.
* ''Landið, fólkið og þjóðtrúin: kortlagðir álagablettir og byggðir trölla, álfa, drauga, skrímsla og útilegumanna í Árnesþingi'' (Selfoss: Sunnlenska bókaútgáfan, 2001), ; 9789979607021.
Bjarni likes to write while abroad, drafting ''Sigurðar saga fóts'' in Ethiopia, writing ''Mensalder'' largely in a five-week period in Pakistan, and writing ''Mörður'' in Senegal.
['Mörður var ekki endilega illmenni', 14 June 2014, http://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/1512999/; http://www.menningarstadur.123.is/blog/2014/06/14/morur-var-ekki-endilega-illmenni/.]
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 Icel ...
*
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
Bloggsíða BjarnaKosningabaráttusíða BjarnaTölvupóstar frá Bjarna Harðarsynifrétt RÚV 10. nóvember 2008
Bjarni Hardarson
Living people
1961 births
Bjarni Hardarson
Bjarni Hardarson
Bjarni Hardarson
Bjarni Hardarson
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