Jóhann Sigurjónsson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jóhann Sigurjónsson (June 19, 1880 - August 31, 1919) was an Icelandic playwright. Untypically, Jóhann wrote plays in both his native Icelandic language and in Danish.

Jóhann was the son of an Icelandic farmer and was born in Laxamýri, Iceland. Like most Icelanders at the time, he was educated at the University of Copenhagen. While attending the university, he came under the influence of the Danish writer Georg Brandes and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.

He is probably best known for his play Fjalla-Eyvindur (Danish: Bjærg-Eyvind og hans husfru, English: Eyvindur of the Mountain), which was first published in 1911. The play was a success in Germany and Scandinavia, and was also produced in the United States. The play is based on an Icelandic folk tale about an outlaw.

He also wrote a Nietzchean tragedy called Galdra-Loftur (Danish: Önsket, English: The Wish or Loftur the Sorcerer). It tells the story of a Hamlet-like, ambitious young scholar who dabbles in dark magical arts to acquire knowledge.

Jóhann died of tuberculosis in Copenhagen at the age of 39.