Gerður Kristný: Returns
–Iceland
Born in Reykjavík in 1970. Studied French and comparative studies at the University of Iceland. She is a recognized author of more than thirty titles: collections of poems, short stories, novels and children's books. Winner of the prestigious Jónas Hallgrímsson Prize for the enrichment of the Icelandic language and the Icelandic Literary Prize for the extensive poem Blóðhófnir (2010, Bloody Hooves). The composition is based on the Old Norse myth of the courtship of the god of love Frey and the giantess Gerður, whom the author interprets as a victim of psychological pressure. In the novel Hestvík (2016), the author sends the main female character to the landscape of childhood, where, however, mainly unwelcome memories await her. Anxiety, the theme of the overthrow of the old order, but also the principles of equality between people, runs like a red thread through the work of Gerður Kristný.