Hermann Stefánsson is a literary scholar and writer of fiction, and these two elements are reflected and constantly negotiated in his works. He is of a generation of literary students where postmodern and poststructuralist concerns were at their height, and has introduced these elements, and addressed them in many different ways throughout his writing career, in his novels, short stories, and poetry.

In the foreword to his first book, a collection of essays on literature and culture, Sjónhverfingar: Fjarvistarsannanir fyrir íslenskan veruleika [Illusions: Alibis for an Icelandic Reality] (2003) the author writes: “This book looks at absence from various perspectives. These absences fall into three categories: the absence of a final conclusion, the absence of reality and the absence of

1899 words

Citation: Guðmundsdóttir, Gunnþórunn. "Hermann Stefánsson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14858, accessed 21 November 2024.]

14858 Hermann Stefánsson 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.