Bjarki Karlsson


Bjarki Karlsson is an Icelandic poet, translator, linguist, and systems analyst. His first poetry collection, Árleysi alda, won the Bókmenntaverðlaun Tómasar Guðmundssonar for 2013. and the Bókmenntaverðlaun starfsfólks bókaverslana in the poetry category in the same year. The book was Iceland's best-selling poetry collection in 2013. His poem Þúsaldarháttur is satirical in nature:

Personal life

He is active in Ásatrúarfélagið where he was a board member from 2011 to 2013. After stepping down from the board he has continued to work with the organization's website.

Poetry

Árleysi alda. Akranes: Uppheimar, 2013 Árleysi árs og alda. Illustrations: Matthildur Margrét Árnadóttir. Guest authors: Erpur Eyvindarson a.k.a. Blaz Roca and Ewa Gaworska. This is a special hardcover gift version of Árlesi alda where new poetry has been added as well as new stanzas to the poems of 2013. Contains a music CD with 21 songs where various artists sing poems from the book. 12 of the 21 songs were composed specially the occasion. Producer of CD: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. Almenna bókafélagið: BF-útgáfa, 2014.

Music

Helreið afa, Vögguvísur Yggdrasils 2016. Also track 1 in Árleysi árs og alda.Árleysi árs og alda CD: For complete list of tracks, artists and composers, cf. IcelandicMusic.com: Árleysi árs og alda.

Original Poetry and Nursery Rhymes in illustrated children's books

The following books only contain poetry, no prose. Bjarki's texts replace the original texts, based on the illustrations, and should not be regarded as translations.
  • Hafsteinn Hafsteinsson and Bjarki Karlsson, Enginn sá hundinn. Reykjavík : Mál og menning, 2016Ástin mín, new text by Bjarki Karlsson. Illustrators and authors of poetry in the original version: Jo Ryan, Robyn Newton and Amy Oliver. Reykjavík: Unga ástin mín, 2016.Knús, new text by Bjarki Karlsson. Illustrator: Holly Jackman. Author of poetry in the original version: Natalie Boyd. Reykjavík: Unga ástin mín, 2016Mjá! Mjá! new text by Bjarki Karlsson. Illustrator: Holly Jackman. Author of poetry in the original version: Natalie Boyd. Reykjavík: Unga ástin mín, 2016Heiðrún Ýr, new text by Bjarki Karlsson. Illustrator: Chantal Renn. Authors of poetry in the original version: Nicoal Friggens, Natalie Munday and Anna Vallarino. Reykjavík: Unga ástin mín. 2017.Snati Már, new text by Bjarki Karlsson. Illustrator: Chantal Renn. Authors of poetry in the original version: Nicoal Friggens, Natalie Munday and Anna Vallarino. Reykjavík: Unga ástin mín. 2017.

Translations

Bjarki has translated some books, mostly books for toddlers, but also:
Poetry:
  • Yahya Hassan, Yahya Hassan: ljóð, trans. by Bjarki Karlsson. Reykjavík: Mál og menning, 2014
Prose:
  • Thiago de Moraes, Atlas goðsagna. Reykjavík: Bókafélagið, 2018.
  • Frith, Alex and Louie Stowell and Matteo Pincelli, Sögur úr norrænni goðafræði. Reykjavík: Rósakot, 2015.