Background
Sigurður grew up in the north-east of Iceland.
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Sigurdur Palsson
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Sigurður graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1967, having been taught French by, amongst others, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. And then, at the age of 19, proceeded to France. He studied French from 1967-1968 in Paris and Toulouse, before taking a Diplôme universitaire d"études littéraires and the first part of an Master of Arts at University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle and studying cinema at the Conservatoire libre du cinéma français.
In 1978-1982, Sigurður returned to the Sorbonne to complete his Master of Arts and take a Drug Enforcement Administration. He also studied film directing at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français.
Career
He works primarily in cinema and television, theatre, and university teaching. He is particularly noted, among Icelandic writers, for his close links with France. Education Artistic career Sigurður was in France during the May 1968 revolts, which influenced his intellectual and literary evolution.
During the 1970s, Sigurður Pálsson was part of a group of young Icelandic poets, the Listaskáldin vondu, who worked to renew Icelandic literary language by combining colloquial language with traditional influences.
The group also included Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Pétur Gunnarsson and Þórarinn Eldjárn. In 1975, he published the collection Ljóð vega salt, which deployed autobiographical elements to probe contemporary life.
From the 1980s onwards, he published collections of poems, a number of novels, ten or so plays, and twenty or so translations, mostly from French. He has also taught at the University of Iceland and the Iceland Academy of the Arts.
Awards and honours Among Sigurður"s main works are: 1975: Ljóð vega salt 1980: Ljóð vega menn (Reykjavik: Mál og menning) 1982: Ljóð vega gerd (Reykjavik: Iðunn) 1990: Ljóð námu völd (Reykjavik: Forlagið) 1993: Ljóð línu (Reykjavik: Forlagið) 1995: Ljóðlínuskip (Reykjavik: Forlagið) 1996: Ljóð vega safn (Reykjavik: Mál og menning) 1997: Ljóðlínuspil (Reykjavik: Forlagið) 1998: Parísarhjól (Reykjavik: Forlagið) 2002: Næturstaður (Reykjavik: JPV) 2002: Tattu (Tattoo), a comedy.
2007: Minnisbók (Reykjavik: JPV) 2009: Ljóðorkuþörf (Reykjavik: JPV) Translations into English include: 2014: Inside Voices Outside Light, translations by Martin South. Regal (Todmorden: Arc).
