Linda Vilhjalmsdottir

Linda Vilhjalmsdottir (b.1958) is a poet, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. She was already known from her magazine contributions when her first collection, Bláþráður (Hanging by a Thread) was published in 1990, the best début by an Icelandic poet for a long time. Two aspects of Vilhjalmsdottir's work were perhaps most striking: the depth she achieved in her introspective poems, and her original approach to nature poetry. Her second book, Klakabörnin (The Children of Ice, 1992), testified to her growing stature as a poet as she tackles perennial subjects such as human relationships and emotions with a singular lyrical sensitivity. In 2003 she published a semi-autobiographical novel: Lygasaga (Story of Lies). Her plays have been staged at the Reykjavik City Theatre as well as other ventures. Linda Vilhjalmsdottir has received numerous prizes and awards for her literary work, including two literary awards from the daily newspaper DV, the Jón-úr-Vör Poety Award and the Icelandic Booksellers' Prize for the best volume of poetry in 2015. The volume frelsi (liberty) was also nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize (2017) and brought her the title “European Poet of Freedom” 2018 in Gdansk. Her poems have been published in various anthologies in English, Swedish, French, German and Galician.