Benediktsson, Einar

(1864-1940)

   An Icelandic poet and journalist, Benediktsson was the son of a notable politician and government administrator. Somewhat unruly as a young man, Benediktsson took a long time to finish a law degree in Copenhagen, where he spent a great deal of time developing his poetic gifts. He was much taken with the ideas of Georg Brandes, whose lectures he attended, but later adopted the individualist outlook of the neoromantics. Back in Iceland after his studies, he worked as a newspaperman and championed Iceland's independence. He was in favor of industrialization and other forms of economic development, including the development of radio as a means of communication between Iceland and the outside world. Some of his early poetry was published in the collection Sogur og kvæSi (1897; Tales and Songs).

   Benediktssson's poetry is highly intellectual and reflective. It unites a concern about form—Benediktsson is keenly aware of the poetic heritage from Old Norse literature—with a love for the natural world that is strongly present in such collections as Hafblik (1906; Sea Calm), Hrannir (1913; Waves), and Vogar (1921; Billows). The ocean is one ofhis main sources ofinspiration.