Kristján Karlsson (26 January 1922 – August 5, 2014) was an Icelandic poet and writer born at Eyvík in Tjörnes in Þingeyjarsýsla South. He studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1945. He went to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for graduate studies at the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, completing an M.A. degree in

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

in 1947. Karlsson was a member of the Board of the

Icelandic Literary Society The Icelandic Literary Society (), founded in 1816, is an organization dedicated to promoting and strengthening Icelandic language Icelandic ( ; , ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-E ...

in 1979 and the Patriotic Society from 1984 to 1985. He has written poetry, short stories, essays and articles, as well as being a translator. He has also edited several books. He published the poetry collection ''Kvæði'' ("Poems") in 1976. He was awarded the Davíðspenninn (the Pen of Davíð) in 1991 for ''Kvæði 90'' ("Poems 90") and The National Broadcasting Service Writer's Award a year later.Icelandic literature / Kristján Karlsson

References

1922 births 2014 deaths Kristján Karlsson Icelandic expatriates in the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni {{Iceland-writer-stub