Sjón, the great Icelandic novelist championed by the likes of Junot Díaz, David Mitchell, and A.S. Byatt, discusses the U.S. release of his three books—The Blue Fox/Skugga-Baldur, The Whispering Muse/Argóarflísin, and From the Mouth of the Whale/Rökkurbýsnir—with fellow author Hari Kunzru (Gods Without Men).
Icelandic musician and Sjón collaborator Björk will open the program.
About Sjón
Sjón (b. 1962, Reykjavík) is an award-winning novelist, poet, and playwright whose works have been translated into more than 25 languages. Also a lyricist, he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 2000 for “I’ve Seen It All” – the song from Dancer in the Dark he co-wrote with Lars von Trier. In 2005 The Blue Fox was nominated for the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize and The Whispering Muse received the Icelandic Bookseller’s Prize for Novel of the Year.
He frequently collaborates with Björk, including her most recent project Biophilia (2011). Sjón is also the President of the Icelandic PEN Center and the Chairman of the Board of Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature. He lives in Reykjavík.
About Hari Kunzru
Hari Kunzru is the author of the novels The Impressionist (2002), Transmission (2004), and My Revolutions (2007), as well as a short story collection, Noise (2006). His work has been translated into twenty-one languages and won him prizes including the Somerset Maugham award, the Betty Trask prize of the Society of Authors, and a British Book Award. In 2003 Granta named him one of its twenty best young British novelists. Lire magazine named him one of its 50 “écrivains pour demain.”
He is Deputy President of English PEN, a patron of the Refugee Council, and a member of the editorial board of Mute magazine. His short stories and journalism have appeared in diverse publications including The New York Times, Guardian, The New Yorker, Washington Post, Times of India, Wired, and New Statesman. His fourth novel, Gods Without Men was published in August 2011. He lives in New York City.
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Photo by the American-Scandinavian Foundation
THU 5-9-2013 – 7:00 pm
free