Þórbergur Þórðarson (Thórbergur Thórdarson) (Hali í Suðursveit, 12 March 1888 – Reykjavík, 12 November 1974) was an Icelandic author and Esperantist.
An ironist, satirist, volatile critic, and ground-breaking achiever in experimental auto-fiction, Þórbergur arguably remains among Iceland's most beloved 20th century authors. He is considered one of the big Icelandic stylists of his day, with an shrewd vocabulary and facility for written expression. Therefore, he was respectfully dubbed "Maestro Þórbergur".
Þórbergur was an autodidact. As recounted in his largely autobiographical works, Íslenzkur aðall (1938) and Ofvitinn (1940), Þórbergur lived in poverty for much of his youth and early adulthood and could not afford secondary or higher education.
Key years This list of years detailing his life are as follows: +List of notable life detailsYearNotes1888–1906Gre up in Suðursveitw1906–1909Worked as a ship's cook1909–1913Attended school without graduating1913–1918Studied literature and philosophy at the University of Iceland but was not allowed to graduate1916Began collecting Icelandic vocabulary1918Delved into theosophy and yoga1918–1925Worked as a teacher1924His mistress gave birth to their daughter, Guðbjörg1925Devotes his life to Esperanto1932Married Margrét Jónsdóttir1921–1940Travelled extensively in Europe1974Received honorary doctorate from the University of IcelandNov 12, 1974Died at Vífilsstaðir Hospital In January 1934, Þórbergur wrote a series of essays for the socialist daily Alþýðublaðið, titled "The Nazis' Sadistic Appetite" ("Kvalaþorsti nazista"Þórbergur Þórðarson, „Kvalaþorsti nazista.“ í Alþýðublaðinu, 6. jan. 1934, bls. 2.). Iceland's public prosecutor filed charges against Þórðarson for supposedly offensive clauses in the article, one of which labelled Adolf Hitler "a sadist". The Supreme Court of Iceland agreed with the prosecutor and found the author guilty of "derogating a foreign nation". The court sentenced Þórbergur to pay a fine of 200 krónur.„Æra Hitlers metin á 200 krónur“, grein í Alþýðublaðinu, 103. tbl, 1. ágúst 1997, bls. 8.
English translations
The relatively little of Þórbergur's work which has been translated into English consists mainly of fragments from his larger works. Portions of Íslenzkur aðall (1938) were published as In Search of My Beloved in 1967. In recent years, Professor Julian Meldon D'arcy has translated a fragment from Bréf til Láru (1924) as a short story, titled "When I got pregnant", as well as the first full book to appear in English translation: The Stones Speak (2012), Þórbergur's childhood memoirs, originally published as Steinarnir tala in 1956. Further translations are in progress.
Bibliography 1912: Nótt (Night), poem 1915: Hálfir skósólar 1917: Spaks manns spjarir 1922: Hvítir hrafnar (reprint of "Hálfir skósólar" and "Spaks manns spjarir") 1924: Bréf til Láru (Letters to Lára) 1938: Íslenzkur aðall (Portions published in English as "In Search of my Beloved" by Twayne Publishers, 1967) 1940–1941: Ofvitinn (The Eccentric) 1941: Edda (poetry by Þórbergur) 1947: Í Suðursveit 1945–1950: Ævisaga Árna Þórarinssonar prófasts, (memoirs of Árni Þórarinsson) 1954–1955: Sálmurinn um blómið (The Hymn about the Flower) 1956: Steinarnir tala (Published in English as The Stones Speak by Mál og menning, Reykjavík 2012) 1956-1958: Trilogy about Suðursveit district 1960: Ritgerðir 1924–1959 (essays) 2010: In the Footsteps of a Storyteller (excerpts accompanied by photographs, Forlagið 2010) While only major work by Þórbergur are listed above he also wrote a number of essays and other pieces on a variety of subjects, besides writing in the international language of Esperanto.
Museum
On 30 June 2006, a museum and cultural centre was opened in Hali, Suðursveit. It is called the Þórbergssetur, and is dedicated to Þórbergur's work and life.
Notes
Citations
References Íslenska Alfræðiorðabókin P-Ö. 1990. Editors: Dóra Hafsteinsdóttir and Sigríður Harðardóttir. Örn og Örlygur hf., Reykjavík.
External links
Thorbergur.is – The museum's website http://www.sagenhaftes-island.is/en/icelandic-literature/authors/nr/1121 – A biography