Stephan G. Stephansson
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Stephan G. Stephansson | |
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| Born | Stefán Guðmundur Guðmundsson 3 October 1853 Skagafjörður, Iceland |
| Died | 10 August 1927 (aged 73) Markerville, Alberta |
| Resting place | Christinsson and Stephansson Cemetery, Markerville, Alberta |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright |
| Nationality | Western Icelander |
| Citizenship | Iceland |
| Period | 1873-1927 |
| Spouse | Helga Sigríður Jónsdóttir (1878-1927) |
| Children | 8 |
Stephan G. Stephansson (October 3, 1853 – August 10, 1927) was a Western Icelander, poet, and farmer. His given name was Stefán Guðmundur Guðmundsson.
Early Life
[edit]He was born in Skagafjörður, Iceland but immigrated to Wisconsin, United States in 1873, at age 19. In 1889 he moved to Markerville, Red Deer County, Alberta, Canada. He did not see Iceland again until 1917, when he was 64 years old.
Stephan was self-educated and worked hard all his life. He wrote after work, and, being an insomniac, he often wrote till dawn. He was under the influence of the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson and they shared the same beliefs in many matters, including equal rights for men and women. Stephan wrote only in Icelandic and had great influence in his home country.
His poems were published in a six volume book called "Andvökur" (Wakeful Nights).
His letters and essays were published in four volumes, and even if nothing of his poetry had survived, those would have been enough to single him out as one of Iceland's foremost men of letters.
Death and Legacy
[edit]On 16 December 1926, Stephansson suffered a severe stroke.[1] Although advised by doctors to be moved to a nearby hospital, Stephansson refused. He struggled greatly with writing, although, with assistance from Helga and his daughter Rósa, he regained the ability to write and continued to produce poetry.[2] Despite this recovery, his health worsened throughout the spring of 1927 and on 9 August 1927, he suffered another stroke, passing away in the early morning of 10 August.[3]
His homestead near Markerville is an Alberta Provincial Historic Site.[4] It has been restored and is open to the public from May 15 until August 31.
The Stephan G. Stephansson Award is named in his honor and awarded annually by the Writers Guild of Alberta.[5]
In 1984 folk artist Richard White released an album of Stephansson poems sung in English translation and set to original music called Sun Over Darkness Prevail.
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Monument to Stephan Stephansson at Vatnsskarð pass near Varmahlið in northern Iceland -
Stephan G. Stephansson Monument
References
[edit]- ^ Hreinsson, Viðar (2012). Wakeful Nights: Stephan G. Stephansson, Icelandic-Canadian Poet. Calgary, Alberta: Benson Ranch Inc. p. 547. ISBN 978-0-9733657-3-3.
- ^ Hreinsson 2012, p. 549-550.
- ^ Hreinsson 2012, p. 554-555.
- ^ Stephan G. Stephansson House. Canadian Register of Historic Places.
- ^ "Awards | Writers' Guild of Alberta".
- Ross, Jane (2005). "Stephansson, Stephan Gudmundur". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XV (1921–1930) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
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