Ingibjörg Haraldsdóttir

Ingibjörg Haraldsdóttir (21 October 1942 – 7 November 2016) was an Icelandic poet and translator. She lived in Cuba from 1970 to 1975 and also lived in the U.S.S.R. for a time. She has had six books of poetry published. In translations she is most known for her work translating Russian and Spanish works. She was born in Reykjavík. In 2002, she was awarded the Icelandic Literary Prize.

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Ingibjörg.

Her best known poem is Kona ('woman'), from 1983:

Þegar allt hefur verið sagt
þegar vandamál heimsins eru
vegin metin og útkljáð
þegar augu hafa mæst
og hendur verið þrýstar
í alvöru augnabliksins
─kemur alltaf einhver kona
að taka af borðinu
sópa gólfið og opna gluggana
til að hleypa vindlareyknum út.

Það bregst ekki.[1]

When all has been said
When the problems of the world
Have been weighed gauged and settled
When eyes have met
And hands been pressed
In the sobriety of the moment
–some woman always comes
To clear the table
Sweep the floor and open the windows
To let out the cigar smoke.

It never fails.[2]

References
  1. "Ljóð.is". ljod.is. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  2. Translated by Þorgerður Einarsdóttir, quoted by W. D. Valgarðsson, http://wdvalgardsonkaffihus.com/blog/2013/02/11/boys-pretending-to-be-vikings/.


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