Sjón: Mythical Realism
–Iceland
Born 1962 in Reykjavík, real name Sigurjón Sigurdsson, currently the most translated Icelandic writer. Novelist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, librettist, lyricist, composer and much more. He wrote his debut, the poetry collection Sýnir [Sons, 1978], under the influence of surrealism, Dadaism and poeticism. He was a founding member of the neo-surrealist group Medúsa, which was loud in the Reykjavík punk scene. He wrote a number of song lyrics, especially for the singer Björk, with whom he has been collaborating for a long time. His first international success was with the novel Skugga-Baldur [Son of the Shadow, 2003], for which he won the prestigious Nordic Council Prize for Literature. He combines the raw realism of Iceland in the second half of the 19th century with the timelessness of old myths. In his prose texts, he often returns to, until recently neglected, themes of Iceland's past, e.g. in the novels The Moonstone (2015) and The Muse from the Ship Argó (2016). He is inspired by Nordic and Ancient legends, music and film in his books turn into well-told stories imbued with emotions.