Sjón

SJÓN Photo:Hordur Sveinsson

Sjón is the pen name of Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (born 27 August 1962). His pen name is formed from his given name (Sigurjón), and means 'Sight'.

Sjón is an Icelandic author and a poet. He was awarded the The Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2005 for the novel Skugga-Baldur ('The Blue Fox'), but is perhaps best known in the English speaking world for writing some of Björk's lyrics. Lyrics Sjón has written for Björk are for the songs "Isobel", its sequel "Bachelorette", "Oceania", written especially for the 2004 Summer Olympics and "Wanderlust". In 2001 he was nominated for an Academy Award (Oscars), alongside his co-writers Lars von Trier and Björk, for the song "I've Seen it All" from the film Dancer in the Dark.

He has also appeared as guest vocalist on a rare Sugarcubes 12" single Luftgitar (air guitar) in 1987 using the name Johnny Triumph; this was accompanied by a music video of Sjón playing an invisible guitar with Björk and Einar Örn Benediktsson. Sjón would occasionally reprise this role for the final encore of Sugarcubes concerts, including the band's one-off 2006 reunion show in Reykjavík. Still involved in the Icelandic music scene, Sjón is a member of the advisory board for Kraumur Music Fund, which "aim is to strengthen Icelandic musical life, primarily by supporting young musicians in performing and presenting their works."

As a poet Sjón published his first volume of poetry, Sýnir ('Visions') in 1978 and has since published numerous books of poetry, prose and even children's novels. His novels have been translated to Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German and French, among twelve other languages, with the English edition of The Blue Fox (Skugga-Baldur) published in 2008 by Telegram Books. The Blue Fox is nominated for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2009.

Sjón is married and has two children. He currently resides in Reykjavík.

"In many respects, Sjon's oeuvre constitutes a novelty in Icelandic literature. The way in which Sjon employs international culture, myth, literature, and popular culture is unique, as is the breadth of his scope of reference. The narratives are enriched by light and humorous touches, which allow him to work pliably with what would otherwise seem obscure matters."
(Eysteinsson and Dagsdottir, p. 452, A History of Icelandic Literature, U of Nebraska Press, 2006)

Bibliography

NOVELS

• The Twilight of Marvels ("Rökkurbýsnir", Novel, 2008)
• The Whispering Muse (a.k.a. The Splinter from Argo) ("Argóarflísin", Novel, 2005)
• The Blue Fox ("Skugga-Baldur", Novel, 2003)
• With a Quivering Tear ("Með titrandi tár", Novel, 2001)
• Made in Secret (a.k.a. Your Eyes Saw Me) ("Augu þín sáu mig", Novel, 1994)
• Angel, Stovehat and Strawberries ("Engill, pípuhattur og jarðarber", Novel, 1989)
• Night of Steel ("Stálnótt", Novel, 1987)

POETRY

• Collected Poems 1978-2008 ("Ljóðasafn", Poems, 2008)
• the song of the stone collector ("söngur steinasafnarans", Poems, 2007)
• obscure figures ("myrkar fígúrur", Poems, 1998)
• there is something I can't remember about the clouds ("Ég man ekki eitthvað um skýin", Poems, 1991)
• The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes, poems from 1978-1986 ("Drengurinn með röntgenaugun", Poems, 1986)
• Toy Castles ... ("Leikfangakastalar", Poems, 1986)
• Oh, Isn't it Wild? ("Oh, Isn't it Wild?", Poems, 1985)
• The Book of Illusions ("Sjónhverfingabókin", Poems, 1983)
• The Blind Man's Bicycle ("Reiðhjól blinda mannsins", Poems, 1982)
• How Does One Make Love to Hands? ("Hvernig elskar maður hendur?", Poems, 1981)
• Birgitta ("Birgitta", Poems, 1979)
• Madonna ("Madonna", Poems, 1979)
• Visions ("Sýnir", Poems, 1978)

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

• The Story of the Strange Bird ("Sagan af furðufugli", illustr. Daði Guðbjörnsson, 2002)
• Númi and his Seven Heads ("Númi og höfuðin sjö", illustr. Halldór Baldursson, 2000)
• The Story of the Great Cap ("Sagan af húfunni fínu", illustr. Halldór Baldursson, 1995)

Works in translation

NOVELS

Rökkurbýsnir (The Twilight of Marvels)

Forthcoming in German, English, Danish and Swedish.

Argóarflísin (The Whispering Muse)

• Dutch: De fluisterende muze - Uitgeverij De Geus 2009
• Finnish: Argon lastu - Like 2008
• Swedish: Fisk och kultur - Alfabeta 2007
• Norwegian: Flisen fra Argo - Tiden 2007
• Danish: Splinten fra Argo – Athene 2006

Forthcoming in Faroese.

Skugga-Baldur (The Blue Fox)

• Lithuanian: Baldras, Šešėlio sūnus - Apostrofa 2009
• English: The Blue Fox - Telegram Books 2008
• Spanish: El zorro ártico - Nórdica Libros 2008
• Czech: Syn stínu - Argo 2008
• French: Le Moindre Des Mondes - Rivage 2007
• German: Schattenfuchs - S. Fischer 2007
• Italian: La volpe azzurra. Una leggenda islandese. - Mondadori 2006
• Dutch: Blauwvos - Uitgeverij De Geus 2006
• Faroese: Skugga-Baldur - Nýlendi 2006
• Danish: Skygge-Baldur - Athene 2005
• Finnish: Skugga-Baldur - Like 2005
• Norwegian: Skugga-Baldur - Tiden 2005
• Swedish: Skugga-Baldur - Alfabeta 2005
• Serbian: Pticje mleko - Geopoetika 2005

Forthcoming in Galician, Turkish, Polish.

Með titrandi tár (With A Quivering Tear)

• French: Sur la paupière de mon père - Rivages 2008
• Swedish: Med skälvande tårar - Alfabeta 2004

Augu þín sáu mig (Made in Secret)

• Romanian: Ochii tăi m-au văzut - Niculescu 2008
• Lithuanian: Tavo akys matė mane - Apostrofa 2005
• Spanish: Tus ojos me vieron: Historia de amor - Ediciones Siruela 2005
• Finnish: Sinun silmäsi näkivät minut (rakkaustarina) - Like 2004
• Danish: Dine øjne så mig - Vindrose 2002
• Norwegian: Dine øyne så meg: en kjærlighetshistorie – Tiden 2001
• Swedish: Dina ögon såg mig: en kärlekssaga - Anamma 1997

Forthcoming in French.

POETRY

• German: Gesang des Steinesammlers - Kleinheinrich 2007
• Macedonian: Astronomija na gladniot - SPV 2007
• French: figures obscures - Cahiers de Nuit 2000
• English: Night of the Lemon - Greyhound Press 1993

Prizes

Literary Prizes

• The Blue Fox (Skugga-Baldur), nominated for the 2009 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.
• The Icelandic Bookseller's Prize for the Novel of the Year, 2005, for Argóarflísin.
• The Nordic Council's Literature Prize, 2005, for Skugga-Baldur.
• The DV Newspaper Culture Prize / Literature, 2002, for Með titrandi tár.
• The Icelandic Broadcasting Service Writers Fund, 1998, for contribution to Icelandic literature.
• The DV Newspaper Culture Prize / Literature, 1995, for Augu þín sáu mig.

Other Prizes

• Skuggaleikur (Shadow Play), an opera by Karólína Eiríksdóttir with libretto by Sjón, based on the short story Skyggen (the Shadow) by H. C. Andersen, is nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize, 2008
• Nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Original Song for the song I've Seen It All from the film Dancer in the Dark, 2000
• Nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the song I've Seen It All from the film Dancer in the Dark, 2001

External links

• Sjón's biography at the Reykjavík City Library web
• Sjón's biography at the Nordic Council's webpage
• A.S. Byatt reviews the Blue Fox/Skugga-Baldur in the Times
• A page about Skugga-Baldur/Schattenfuchs on the German Wikipedia.
• Review of Argóarflísin (in danish)
• Bjartur, Sjón's Icelandic publisher