Icelandic Literary History V # 84384

Icelandic Literary History V. Árni Ibsen, Dagný Kristjánsdóttir, Jón Yngvi Jóhannsson, Magnús Þór Þorbergsson, Margrét Tryggvadóttir, Matthías Viðar Sæmundsson, Silja Aðalsteinsdóttir. Editor Guðmundur Andri Thorsson. This fifth and final volume of Icelandic Literary History discusses in detail most aspects of Icelandic literature from the mid-20th century to the end of the century. Here, the focus is on the formal revolution and modernism in poetry and tells of bitter conflicts over the poetic form. It also discusses the stories of Thor Vilhjálmsson, Guðbergur Bergsson and Svava Jakobsdóttir, who heralded a new era, but their work and that of other story writers also caused great controversy. This volume also contains a thorough and timely discussion of Icelandic playwriting from 1918 until the turn of the century and a special chapter on Icelandic children's books of recent decades. It then provides a detailed account of poetry and fiction writing in Iceland after 1970, and explores the various trends that became prominent at that time: neorealism, fantasy, rebellion, and postmodernism. Finally, it describes what can be called the heyday of the novel at the end of the century, and provides some background on all the major authors involved.