Svava Jakobsdóttir

Who was Svava Jakobsdóttir?

Svava Jakobsdóttir was one of Iceland's foremost 20th Century authors and feminist politicians. As a writer her work was characterized by "unique brand of surreal feminism." Her father Jakob Jónsson was a Lutheran minister. From 1935 to 1940 he and his family lived in Wynyard, Saskatchewan where he served as the pastor of the Icelandic-Canadian congregation. She graduated from Smith College in 1952. She was a member of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament, from 1971 to 1979 for the left-wing party Alþýðubandalagið. Her best known works are the novel Gunnlaðar saga, the novella Leigjandinn and the macabre short story "Saga handa börnum". Besides prose she also wrote poetry and plays. She won the Henrik Steffens Award in 1997.