Virtually unknown in Canada, Stephan Gudmundsson Stephansson is considered to be one of Iceland's greatest poets, and one of North America's greatest by people who can read Icelandic. Born in 1853 in Skagafjörður, Iceland, Stephansson emigrated to Wisconsin in 1878, and then to Alberta in 1889. There, he obtained a homestead near Markerville.

    During the day he was just a regular farmer, but at night, writing only in Icelandic, he composed long narrative poems about his native land and its history, and of Canada's Icelandic pioneers. He would eventually write some 1,800 pages of verse that was published in Iceland in six books. In his homeland he became known as Klettafjallaskadid, the Poet of the Rocky Mountains. In an essay on Stephansson entitled "The Poet in the Pigpen", Viðar Hreinsson states that:

In Stephansson's poetry, three basic elements (the ballast of literary tradition, the encounter with new cultural currents, and the profound sense of the significance of nature and labour), resulted in an extremely strong identity or self-understanding, strengthened by an active perception of life and society. Nature and farming labour form the cornerstones of an intellectual and deeply humane worldview where the open space of the countryside reflects a clearly marked standpoint opposed to the crowded urban culture. In particular, Stephansson's strongly down to earth perception of farm-labour is transformed into provoking imagery which sometimes ridicules semi-intellectual dogmatism.

    Stephansson was an insomniac, and he often wrote until dawn. Farming has never been an easy life, and given the hours he devoted to writing, Stephansson's must have been brutal. He was always short of money to support his wife and eight children, and his socialist, pacifist and agnostic views did not make him very popular among his neighbours, compounding the difficulties even more. His opposition to Canada's involvement in the First World War were expressed in a widely-quoted poem:

In Europe's reeking slaughter-pen,
They mince the flesh of murdered men,
While swinish merchants, snout in trough,
Drink all the bloody profits off.

    English translations of Stephansson's poems appear to have only been published in one book, now out of print:
Stephan G. Stephansson: selected prose & poetry (Red Deer, Alberta: Red Deer College Press, 1988).
Many articles, though, have been written about him in English, including four by Jane Ross:

Ross, Jane (1983a) Stephan G. Stephansson: Icelandic-Canadian Poet and Freethinker Canadian. Ethnic Studies XV(1):33-53.

______ (1983b) Stephan G. Stephansson: A 'West Icelander'. Prairie Forum 8(2):195-210.

______ (1982a) Stephan G. Stephansson: The Poet of the Rocky Mountains. Historic Sites Service Occasional Paper No. 9. Alberta Culture, Edmonton. viii + 205 pp.

______ (1982b) Stephan G. Stephansson: Selected Translations from Andvokur. Stephan G. Stephansson Homestead Restoration Committee, Edmonton. vii + 112 pp.

    An indication of the esteem in which Stephansson is held in Iceland is the fact that the Hotel Loftleidir in Reykjavík has dedicated ten of their rooms to Icelandic writers, including Stephansson. The other authors are Hannes Hafstein, Einar Benediktsson, Jóhann Sigurjónsson, Davíd Stefánsson, Jón Helgason, Tómas Gudmundsson, Halldór Laxness, Snorri Hjartarson, and Steinn Steinarr. Each room's decor, designed by architect Björgvin Snæbjörnsson, includes photographs and samples of the particular author's works in both Icelandic and English. As well, a 5-meter statue honouring Stephansson was erected on a hill overlooking his birthplace, and his works are included in Icelandic school curricula.

    In Canada, the violet-and-green Alberta farmhouse where most of Stephansson's poetry was written was restored by Alberta Heritage's Historic Sites Service. They had purchased the empty house in 1975, and began a multi-year restoration. One of Stephansson's daughters, Rosa, donated over 200 of his books, and the University of Manitoba contributed furniture that had come from the house, including the poet's worktable. During the summer, attendants in period costume help visitors to understand the significance of Stephansson's contributions to the literature of both Iceland and Canada. For more information, see the links below, or contact:
Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society
Box 837
Markerville, Alberta
Canada     T0M 1M0

Related Links

The Creation of a Modern Icelandic Style
This short essay describes the contributions of several authors, including Stephansson.

Icelandic Collection
This 14,000-volume collection at the Elizabeth Dafoe Library, University of Manitoba, includes the personal libraries of Stephansson, and Guttormar J.Guttormsson, another Icelandic-Canadian poet.

Stephansson House
From Alberta Heritage, a brief guide to this historic site near Markerville, Alberta. This was the poet's original homestead when he moved from Wisconsin in 1889.

Stephansson Monument
A photo of the monument at Vatnsskarð. There is another photo here.

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