Þórarinn Eldjárn (born 22 August 1949) is an

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 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, from 1968 to 1980. Biography Kristján was born in Tjörn, Svarfaðardal, Iceland. His parents were Þórarinn Kr. Eldjárn, a teacher in Tjörn, ...

, the third

president of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as ...

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

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) 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' s ...

. 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'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

. 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 ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

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 and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

Story presented as an epic tale in the ''

rímur In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterate and consist of two to four lines per stanza. T ...

'' fashion. In 2008, the Icelandic publishing house Vaka-Helgafell, released the entire collection of his poetry which instantly became a best seller. He has five sons: Úlfur Eldjárn, the comedian Ari Eldjárn, Kristján and Halldór Eldjárn of the band ''

Sykur Sykur (''Sugar'' in Icelandic) is an Icelandic band, which was founded in 2008. '' Mesópótamía'', released in Iceland in 2011, saw the band develop their much-loved electro sound. Their single is "Curling", remixed by Dan Le Sac and Database ...

'', and Ólafur Eldjárn.

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 20th-century Icelandic poets, Thorarinn Eldjarn Icelandic translators, Thorarinn Eldjarn 20th-century male writers Icelandic male novelists, Thorarinn Eldjarn Icelandic people with family names, Thorarinn Eldjarn People from Reykjavík {{Iceland-writer-stub