Name Birgir Sigurðsson | Role Writer | |
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Nominations Nordic Council\'s Literature Prize | ||
Birgir Sigurðsson is an Icelandic writer born in Reykjavík on August 28, 1937.
A journalist and schoolteacher in Iceland from the early 1960s, studied classical singing in Amsterdam in the late sixties but returned to teaching in Reykjavík and writing prolifically on the side. He established himself as a playwright and a poet during the seventies and became a full-time writer during the early 1980s, translating Sam Shepard for the Icelandic National Theatre and Doris Lessing's The Grass is Singing, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. With his play Dagur Vonar he cemented his reputation as one of Iceland's greatest dramatists. Later he turned to writing novels, popular history books and TV documentaries.
From 1982 to 1986, Sigurðsson was the vice president of The Writer's Union of Iceland. From 1985 to 1987, he served as president of the Association of Icelandic Artists. He was also a member of the Reykjavík Art Festival committee from 1985 till 1987.