The Northern Scholars Lectures: Hallgrímur Helgason

About the lecture

The Icelandic Tradition of Silence

Icelandic author Hallgrímur Helgason explains his country's culture, where literature is a religion, writers are holy figures and the Sagas are the Bible. With examples from those, as well as his own works, he will inform us on the Icelanders' peculiar way of preserving language through silence.  

About the speaker

Hallgrímur Helgason is an Icelandic writer and artist. As an artist, he has held over 30 solo shows and participated in over 30 group exhibitions home and abroad. As a writer, he published his first novel in 1990 before making his international breakthrough with the publication of 101 Reykjavik in 1996, which has since been filmed. In 2001 he was awarded the Icelandic Literature Prize for his novel, The Author of Iceland. However, his best known books internationally are The Hitman’s Guide to Housecleaning (2008), which he wrote in English, and Woman at 1000 Degrees (2011). Helgason has also enjoyed a short career as a stand-up comedian, introducing the genre to his countrymen. He has published two books of poetry and been a prolific contributor to political debate, with countless articles for Icelandic and international newspapers and magazines.

The event is free.

About the Northern Scholars 

The Northern Scholars Scheme was established at the University of Edinburgh in 1956.

Its role is to foster co-operation between scholars of Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and colleagues in the University of Edinburgh.

Mutual areas of interest include aspects of linguistics, and historical and other cultural studies which are common to these countries and to Scotland. 

Each year, the Northern Scholars Scheme Committee sponsors visits by scholars of the member countries to Edinburgh, during which time they give departmental seminars and public lectures.

Find out more about the Northern Scholars

Are you interested in Scandinavian Studies at Edinburgh?

We are the only university in Scotland, and one of only two in the UK, to offer undergraduate honours programmes in Scandinavian Studies, enabling you to learn modern Danish, Swedish or Norwegian in the context of Scandinavian culture, past and present. We also welcome candidates for postgraduate research degrees (MSc by Research and PhD) in various aspects of Nordic languages, literature, history, culture and society.

Find out more about Scandinavian Studies at Edinburgh