Valdís Halldórsdóttir
Valdís Halldórsdóttir was born on May 27th 1908 in Fljótstunga at Hvítársíða in Mýrasýsla.
Teacher’s degree in 1930. Teacher at Borgarhreppur in Mýrasýsla for one year, teacher in Eyrarbakki 1931-42.
Part-time teacher at Hveragerði elementary school in 1945-48, full time teacher from 1956 until her retirement in 1973.
Co-editor of Embla 1945–49, a magazine which published the works of women writers. The purpose of Embla was to publish women’s writings of all kinds, old and new, especially the works of those not previously published.
Valdís worked on translations, she loved poetry and was a feminist who easily made poetry fascinating in the eyes of her pupils.
Hinn grái straumur gárar sundsins ál,
grátvana rómi óma klettaþrepin:
Hún kenndi landsins mesta skáldi mál,
móðgaði ríkan eiganda sinn, var drepin.
The poem describes the event when Brák the foster-mother of Egill Skallagrímsson swam across the channel. The content of the poem Við Brákarsund (By the Brák Channel) is roughly the following:
The grey current makes ripples in the deep channel,
the rock steps cry out without tears.
She taught the best poet in the land how to speak,
but insulted her rich owner, and was killed.
Eimreiðin 1925:
Arfinn
Dropar 1927:
Of seint
Embla 1945:
Surtshellisför
Embla 1949:
Í ófærð
Og þá rigndi blómum 1991:
Ekkert nema hjartað
Eimreiðin 1939:
En sárast þó sker
Embla 1945:
Við Brákarsund
Og þá rigndi blómum 1991:
Brim
Brák
Völundur hlær
