Eyvindur P. Eiríksson

Eyvindur Pétur Eiríksson (born 13 December 1935) is an Icelandic writer. He has written poetry, novels and plays. His works address concerns about modern alienation and the relationship between man and nature, often approached with dark humour. His novel Landið handan fjarskans received the Halldór Laxness Literary Prize and was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize in 1997.

Eyvindur was a teacher and worked in Icelandic radio and television before writing became his main occupation. He is the father of the rappers Sesar A and . He is a regional leader within the neopagan organisation Ásatrúarfélagið.

Early life and education Eyvindur Pétur Eiríksson was born in Hnífsdalur on 13 December 1935. His parents were Eiríkur A. Guðjónsson (1908–2007), who was a farmer, fisherman and labourer, and Gunnvör Rósa Samúelsdóttir (1905–1967). Eyvindur grew up in Hornstrandir and Ísafjörður and went to school at Akureyri Junior College. After finishing his stúdentspróf in 1955, he worked in the fishing industry, construction, an office and began to teach.

Career Teaching and media For many years, Eyvindur's main profession was teaching on different levels. From 1961 to 1972, he taught at elementary and secondary schools in Reykjavík, Kópavogur and Ísafjörður. From 1972 to 1979, he taught in various capacities at the Iceland College of Education, and evening courses, and in 1977–1979 at the University of Iceland. Eyvindur's first book of poetry, Hvenær? , came out in 1974. It uses dark humour to address modern alienation and consumerism, as well as more topical subjects such as the Vietnam War and the American military base in Keflavík, without becoming politically programmatic. Similar themes of how mankind has become too detached from its roots in nature, treated with humour and irony, appear in the poetry collections Hvaðan – Þaðan (1978, ), Viltu (1989, ) and Vertu (1998, ). In the later collections the imagery is more concise and the poems draw influence from folktales and Old Norse poems such as Hávamál and Völuspá. The poems in this collection concern nature and contrast its beauty with the ego of modern man, which they associate with decline and alienation. Set at the turn of the 19th century, it contains strong criticism of warfare and follows an Icelander who changes his name and identity multiple times as circumstances place him in different roles and countries. In the sequel Þar sem blómið vex og vatnið fellur (1999, ), the protagonist is back in Iceland and is confronted with powers that inhibit nature. All three novels concern the relationship between man and nature in different ways.

Two books for children and teenagers, Á háskaslóð (1993, ) and Meðan skútan skríður (1995, ), are about an eccentric teacher and his two sons. The books address family ties and environmental issues as the main characters go on a sailing vacation in the Baltic Sea. He wrote the introduction to an edition of Hávamál published by Ásatrúarfélagið in 2007.

Selected publications Bibliographic details adapted from the Icelandic Literature Web. Hvenær? (1974, , poems) Hvaðan – Þaðan (1978, Letur, poems) Múkkinn (1988, Iðunn, novel) Viltu (1989, Óskráð, poems) Á háskaslóð (1993, Mál og menning, children's book) Meðan skútan skríður (1995, Mál og menning, children's book) Landið handan fjarskans (1997, , novel) Vertu (1998, Óskráð, poems) Þar sem blómið vex og vatnið fellur (1999, Vaka-Helgafell, novel) Óreiðum augum: heiðin ljóð (2001, Andblær, poems) Glass: saga af glæpum og glöpum (2007, EPE, novel)