Stephansson, Stephan Guðmunðsson

Related Category: Scandinavian Literature: Biographies

(stĕf´än güth´münths-sŏn stĕf´äns-sŏn), 1853–1927, Icelandic novelist and poet. In 1873, Stephansson emigrated to the United States, then Canada, where he farmed for a living and wrote prolifically. His collected poems were published in five volumes, including Kolbeinslag [lay of Kolbein] (1914) and Vígslóði [on the warpath] (1920). The novel series Bréf og ritgerðir (4 vol., 1938–48) reflects his concern for injustice and his liberal political philosophy. Stephansson is noted for his superb use of the Icelandic language.