Davíð Stefánsson


Davíð Stefánsson from Fagriskógur was a famous Icelandic poet and novelist, best known as a poet of humanity.
He was born on 21 January 1895, in Fagriskógur, Eyjafjördur, Iceland and he died on 1 March 1964, Akureyri Iceland.
Davíð Stefánsson came of a cultured yeoman family and was brought up with a love for his homeland, its literature, and its folklore. He frequently journeyed abroad but lived most of his life in the town of Akureyri, where he was a librarian.

Novels and plays

In 1926, he wrote Munkarnir á Möðruvöllum and in 1941, the powerful novel Sólon Islandus, a novel about Sölvi Helgason, a daydreaming 19th-century vagabond whose intellectual ambitions are smothered by society.
In 1941, he wrote the successful play, Gullna hliðið and in 1944, Vopn guðanna and in 1953, his play Landið gleymda.

Poetry

Stefánsson's early poetry, including most of his folk themes and love lyrics, appeared in:
They were combined and published as a collected volume in 1930.
His later poetry—darkening in social satire, reformatory zeal against capitalism and organized religion, and despair over the war—was published as:
His lyrics often have the delicacy of a cradle song; yet his heroic verse shows the virility of an epic poet.