- Jóhann Sigurjónsson
Jóhann Sigurjónsson (
June 19 ,1880 -August 31 ,1919 ) was anIceland ic playwright and poet. Atypically, Jóhann wrote plays and poetry in both his native Icelandic and in Danish.Jóhann was the son of an Icelandic farmer and was born in
Laxamýri , Iceland. In 1899 he emigrated to Denmark to study at The Royal Danish Veterinary and Agricultural University, but abandoned his studies in 1902 to devote himself to literature. During this period, he came under the influence of the Danish writerGeorg Brandes and the philosophy ofFriedrich Nietzsche .He is probably best known for his play "
Fjalla-Eyvindur " (Danish: "Bjærg-Ejvind og hans hustru", English: "Eyvindur of the Mountains"), which was first published in 1911. The play was a success inGermany andScandinavia , was also produced in theUnited States , and was also cinematised by Victor Sjöström in 1918 as " [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0008879/ Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru] ". The play is based on an Icelandic folk tale about a notorious outlaw.He also wrote a Nietzchean-Faustian tragedy called "
Galdra-Loftur " (Danish: "Ønsket", English: "The Wish" or "Loftur the Sorcerer"). It tells the story of an ambitious young scholar who dabbles in sorcery to acquire knowledge and power.Jóhann died in
Copenhagen at the age of 39.External links
* [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Literature/Literature-idx?type=HTML&rgn=DIV1&byte=7623409&pview=hide "The WIsh" or "Galdra-Loftur", by Jóhann Sigurjónsson] English translation from Danish and Icelandic by Einar Haugen
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
