Indriði G. Þorsteinsson
Encyclopedia
Indriði Guðmundur Þorsteinsson (April 18, 1926 - September 3, 2000) was an Icelandic writer.
, the son of a labourer. He studied at Héraðsskólinn á Laugarvatni from 1942-3. He worked as a driver in Akureyri
from 1945-51, when he became a reporter at Tíminn. From 1959-62 he was a reporter for Alþýðublaðið and from 1962-73 he was the editor of the newspaper Tíminn. In 1973 he was appointed director of the national festival, which was held at Þingvellir
in 1974. In the years following, he worked at his writing until again becoming the editor of Tíminn (1987-1991). Indriði was the father of the writer Arnaldur Indriðason
.
His novels Land og synir and Norðan við stríð were shortlisted for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1965 and 1973 respectively.
Life
Indriði was born on a farm in SkagafjörðurSkagafjörður
Skagafjörður is a deep bay in northern Iceland.-Location:Skagafjörður is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the west and the Tjornes Peninsula to the east. There are two municipalities in the area, Skagafjörður Municipality and Akrahreppur Municipality Skagafjörður...
, the son of a labourer. He studied at Héraðsskólinn á Laugarvatni from 1942-3. He worked as a driver in Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
from 1945-51, when he became a reporter at Tíminn. From 1959-62 he was a reporter for Alþýðublaðið and from 1962-73 he was the editor of the newspaper Tíminn. In 1973 he was appointed director of the national festival, which was held at Þingvellir
Þingvellir
|Thing]] Fields) is a place in Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, near the peninsula of Reykjanes and the Hengill volcanic area. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It is the site of a rift...
in 1974. In the years following, he worked at his writing until again becoming the editor of Tíminn (1987-1991). Indriði was the father of the writer Arnaldur Indriðason
Arnaldur Indriðason
Arnaldur Indriðason is an Icelandic writer of crime fiction. He has repeatedly proved to be the most popular writer in Iceland in recent years — topping bestseller lists year after year...
.
Early works
Indriði first received attention by winning a short story contest in 1951 with Blástör, a humorous and erotic fertility story. That same year he published his first short story collection, Sæluvika. In 1955 he published his first novel, 79 af stöðinni ("Taxi 79"). The book was very successful. It deals with the difficulties of a country boy who moves to the city and, more generally, the ongoing changes in Icelandic society brought by modernization and urbanization. The story was made into a film in 1962, a milestone in the history of Icelandic cinema.Later works
- Þeir sem guðirnir elska (1957), short story collection
- Land og synir (1963, "Land and Sons"), novel
- Þjófur í paradís (1967, "Thief in Paradise"), novel
- Norðan við stríð (1971, "North of War"), novel
His novels Land og synir and Norðan við stríð were shortlisted for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1965 and 1973 respectively.