Jóhannes úr Kötlum

Jóhannes Bjarni Jónasson úr Kötlum (born November 4, 1899 on the farm Goddastaðir near Hjarðarholt í Dölum , today Dalabyggð municipality ; † April 27, 1972 in Reykjavík ) was an Icelandic writer. He used the stage name Jóhannes úr Kötlum .

Life

Jóhannes úr Kötlum married Hróðný Einarsdóttir on June 24, 1930 (* May 12, 1908). They had a son and two daughters: Svanur, Inga Dóra and Þóra. Jóhannes was a teacher from 1921 to 1932. He was a member of parliament in 1941 ( Alþingismaður ). He lived in the Daliasýsla district until 1932, then in Reykjavík and Hveragerdi. In between he was also the hut warden in the Thórmörk.

He was also often on trips abroad, u. a. in China, relatively unusual for the time.

Works

Jóhannes úr Kötlum was one of the most famous poets of his time in Iceland, who published 20 volumes of his own poems, wrote 5 novels, translated many books and wrote articles for magazines. He started writing at a young age. Under the title Bí, bí og blaka , the first of his approx. 20 volumes of poetry was published in 1926. The next volume (1929) was entitled Álftirnar kvaka . Both titles allude to a well-known children's song.

From him z. B. a well-known poem about the thirteen Icelandic Santa Clauses Jólasveinar .

One of his poems translated into German is A Young Girl :

I met you alone on the open road,
the evening was beautiful,
the sun sat laughing on the clear glacier
and let its blood-red silk
emerge in the light-blue air tent. (...)

At the beginning he stuck to the bound form, but then turned more and more to the open form in poetry.

Web links

• About the author (Engl.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jón R. Hjálmarsson: Með þjóðskáldum við þjóðveginn . Reykjavík 2004, 58-63
2. ↑ ^{a b} Icelandic poetry. Ed. S. Aðalsteinsdóttir, u. a. Berlin 2011, 58. ISBN 978-3-458-35754-4

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .