The Postwar Poetry of Iceland

This first English-language presentation of modern Icelandic poetry introduces the representative works of major Icelandic poets of the past four decades. Twenty-eight modernist poets exhibit a fascinating diversity of approach, tone, and treatment, illustrating the main preoccupation of their country's culture since World War II. Sigurdur Magnússon, well-known poet, novelist, critic, and translator in Iceland, provides an overview of Iceland's proud poetic tradition in his introduction, which places the poems in their historical and cultural context. Magnússon has also translated Danish, English, Greek, and German works into Icelandic. He has published five volumes of poetry, three novels, a collection of short stories, a play, two travel books, two collections of essays, and three books in English, including a cultural history of Iceland.