We continue our introduction to the poets of the Icelandic City of Literature — Reykjavík Bókmenntaborg UNESCO — and their translators.

Today we will listen to the Icelandic poet from the City of Literature Reykjavík, Brynja Hjálmsdóttir, and read her poem.

Brynja Hjálmsdóttir is a poet and writer from Iceland. She is the recipient of the Ljóðstafur Jóns úr Vör Poetry Prize (2022) and the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Encouragement Award. Her works have been translated into six languages and have appeared in various literary journals and anthologies. Okfruman (Zygote), her first poetry collection, was nominated for the Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize (Fjöruverðlaunin) and received the “Poetry Book of the Year” award from the Icelandic Bookseller Choice Awards. Brynja’s second poetry collection, Kona lítur við (A Woman Looks Back), was published in 2021 and is now available in English, translated by Rachel Britton. Her latest book is a novel, Friðsemd (The Lost Land).

You can enjoy the poem RÖK (“Dispute”) in Icelandic, performed by the author, via this link: