Stephan G. Stephansson

• Name — Stephan G. Stephansson • Birth Name — Stefán Guðmundur Guðmundsson • Born — 3 October 1853 • Birthplace — Skagafjörður, Iceland • Died — 10 August 1927 • Place of death — Markerville, Alberta • Occupation — Poet, playwright, farmer • Period — 1873-1927 • Notable Works — * Vopnhale (1915) • The Trail of War (1920) • Andvökur, Vols. 1-5 (1923) • Andvökur Vol. 6 (1938, posthumously) • Spouse — Helga Sigríður Jónsdóttir (1878-1927) • Children — 8 • Resting Place — Christinsson and Stephansson Cemetery, Markerville, Alberta • Citizenship — Iceland

Stephan G. Stephansson was born on October 3, 1853, on his family’s farm at Kirkjuhóll, in the district of Seyluhreppur in the Skagafjörður region of northern Iceland. His parents, Guðmundur Stefánsson (April 15, 1818 – November 24, 1881) and Guðbjörg Hannesdóttir (July 8, 1930 – January 18, 1911), were tenant farmers. Stephansson’s upbringing at Kirkjuhóll had great influence on his later life. His father taught him how to farm and care for animals, while his mother also helped cultivate an interest in nature and the natural world, something that would influence much of his poetic works. Schools in rural Iceland were rare, and Stephansson’s parents, themselves self-educated, taught him to read and write. Stephansson's father was also a member of a reading society which provided him with access to wide assortment of reading materials. Apart from his parents, Stephansson received periodic instruction from a local Lutheran minister when he visited the family’s farm. Financial difficulties led the family to relocate to several times. In 1860, the family relocated to Syðri-Mælifellsá. The move was beneficial for Stephansson, as several farmers hired a local poet, Sigvaldi Jónsson, to teach local children, including Stephansson. At Syðri-Mælifellsá, Stephansson also met Jón Árnason, an Icelandic farmer-poet and his father's landlord, who provided him with access to his home library. This library provided him with access to many poetic works and Danish texts which he used to teach himself Danish. In 1868 at age 14, Stephansson was confirmed and began working as a fisherman to help support his family. He used his time at sea to compose poetry and verse and perform for his fellow fishermen. In 1870, Stephansson and his family relocated to the Mýri region where Stephansson's three aunts lived. He found work as a farmhand on a farm at Mjóidalur that was owned by his father’s half-sister Sigurbjorg and her husband Jon Jonsson, the parents of Stephansson’s future wife Helga Sigríður Jónsdóttir.

Although Stephansson and his family found some stability at Mjóidalur, they continued to struggle financially. This was compounded by the eruption of Grímsvötn that lasted from January 1873 until the early spring which stifled agriculture and persuaded many families, including Stephansson’s, to immigrate to the United States. In 1873, at age 19, Stephansson settled in Wisconsin, United States. 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.