Pétur Gunnarsson

Pétur Gunnarsson (born June 15, 1947 in Reykjavík ) is an Icelandic writer and translator .

biography

After graduating from high school in 1968, Pétur Gunnarsson began studying philosophy at the University of Aix-Marseille in France, which he completed in 1975. Between 1977 and 1981 he sat on the board of the Icelandic Alliance française , which he chaired from 1980 to 1981. From 2006 to 2010 he was chairman of the Icelandic Writers' Association ( Rithöfundasamband Íslands ). He lives in Reykjavík, is married to the educationalist Hrafnhildur Ragnarsdóttir and has two sons, one of whom is the director Dagur Kári .

Works

Pétur Gunnarsson wrote the play Grænjaxlar for the Icelandic National Theater in 1977 together with actors and the band Spilverk Þjóðanna , as well as texts for a record with children's songs and a play for children. He has also written numerous contributions for radio and television, not least the script for a documentary about Halldór Laxness (1988), Iceland's only Nobel Prize winner to date .

His first volume of poetry, Splunkunýr Dagur , was published in 1973. Pétur Gunnarsson is best known for his novels, v. a. the tetralogy about Andri Haraldsson ( punctuation point comma strik , Ég um mig frá mér til mín , Persónur og leikendur and Sagan öll ). The latter part was nominated in 1987 for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize. The first part of this cycle appeared in 1976, quickly became a great success with critics and readers, and is now a classic in Icelandic literature . The novel describes Andri Haraldsson's childhood in Reykjavík against the background of the social events of the post-war period in funny and ironic, punctuated, elliptical and suggestive, often very short episodes. In 1980 it was made into a film by Þorsteinn Jónsson , and in 2011 the German translation Punkt Punkt komma strich was published .

His last three novels Myndin af heiminum: Skáldsaga Íslands (2000), Leiðin til Rómar: Skáldsaga Íslands II (2002) and Vélar tímans: Skáldsaga Íslands III (2004) deal with the history of Iceland in a novel-like form.

Pétur Gunnarsson has also appeared as a translator of French literature. Among other things, he translated Gustave Flaubert and Marcel Proust into Icelandic .

Novels

• Punktur Punktur komma strik , 1976 (in German: Punkt Punkt komma strich , from the Icelandic by Benedikt Grabinski, Weidle, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-938803-34-9 .)
• Ég um mig frá mér til mín , 1978 (in German: I mean myself , from the Icelandic by Benedikt Grabinski, Weidle, Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-938803-44-8 .)
• Persónur og leikendur , 1982 (in German: The roles and their actors , from the Icelandic by Benedikt Grabinski, Weidle, Bonn 2013, ISBN 978-3-938803-56-1 )
• Sagan öll , 1985 (in German: The fourth book about Andri , from the Icelandic by Benedikt Grabinski, Weidle, Bonn 2014, ISBN 978-3-938803-66-0 )
• Hversdagshöllin , 1990
• Efstu dagar , 1994
• Home Coma , 1997
• Myndin af heiminum , 2000
• Leiðin til Rómar , 2002
• Vélar tímans , 2004
• Íslendingablokk , 2012

Meaning and appreciation

For his translation of Flaubert's Madame Bovary , Pétur Gunnarsson was awarded the DV newspaper's culture prize in 1996. In January 2011 he was honored with the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcons for his work and contribution to Icelandic literature .

See also

• List of Icelandic-speaking writers

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Legendary Iceland (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture Reykjavík) ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Heiðursmerki Fálkaorðunnar 2011 ( Memento of the original from 23 August 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( is ) 

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 .