Education
He studied English literature at the University of California, Berkeley in California, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1945.
He studied English literature at the University of California, Berkeley in California, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1945.
He went to New York for graduate studies at the Columbia University, completing an Master of Arts degree in comparative literature in 1947. He has written poetry, short stories, essays and articles, as well as being a translator. He has also edited several books
He published the poetry collection Kvæði ("Poems") in 1976.
Karlsson was a member of the Board of the Icelandic Literary Society in 1979 and the Patriotic Society from 1984 to 1985.