Guðmundur Kamban

Who was Guðmundur Kamban?

Guðmundur Kamban was an Icelandic playwright and novelist.

He was born near Reykjavík, son of a merchant of an old and well known Icelandic family. He graduated from the College of Reykjavík, where he received honoris causa in literature and language. While still at college, he was made assistant editor of the best known newspaper in Iceland, edited by Björn Jónsson. In 1906 his psychic abilities were also investigated by the Experimental Society founded by Einar Hjörleifsson Kvaran: as a clairvoyant, he succeeded in divining the contents of closed books, and as an automatic writer he penned works supposedly by Hans Christian Andersen, Jónas Hallgrímsson, and Snorri Sturluson. But he lost his mediumistic abilities after a serious illness.

In 1908 he adopted the family name Kamban in place of his birth name and advocated a change in Icelandic naming conventions.

In 1910, he proceeded to the University of Copenhagen, where he specialized in literature and received his Master's degree.

In 1914 he published his first play, Hadda Padda which was endorsed by Georg Brandes and shown in the Danish Royal Theatre with Kamban as assistant director. He later married an actress from the play, Agnete Egeberg, and they had a daughter in 1921.