Abstract
In this article Eysteinsson presents a portrait of Beckett and his work as reflected in the realm of Icelandic language and culture. Beckett’s dramatic work played an important part in the emergence of modernist drama in Iceland at the turn of the 1960s, as reflected in the staging of Waiting for Godot in Reykjavik in 1960. Ever since, Beckett has been a canonical presence in the Icelandic theatre, but one who has also been a source of important experimentation. The paper examines how Beckett was introduced into the Icelandic literary system, how he has been received, which texts have been translated and how meaningful connections have been sought between his ideas and writings and the local literary scene. This road runs mainly through the theatre, but the entry was also facilitated by a number of key individuals who avidly embraced his work.
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Appendix: Works by Beckett Translated into Icelandic
Appendix: Works by Beckett Translated into Icelandic
(1958), Acte sans paroles, trans. Sveinn Einarsson and Ólafur Jónsson, Dagskrá, Vol. 2, No. 1, 17–18.
(1960), Beðið eftir Godot [Waiting for Godot], trans. Indriði G. Þorsteinsson, Reykjavík City Theatre (Unpublished manuscript).
(1965), Síðasta segulband Krapps [Krapp’s Last Tape], trans. Indriði G. Þorsteinsson, Icelandic National Theatre (Unpublished manuscript).
(1965), Gleðidagar [Happy Days], trans. Anna S. Gunnarsdóttir, Gríma Theatre Group (Unpublished manuscript).
(1970), Watt: Upphafskafli skáldsögunnar [the opening pages of Watt], trans. Jón frá Pálmholti, Tímarit Máls og menningar, Vol. 31, No. 3–4, 309–315.
(1971), Kafli úr skáldsögunni Watt [a few pages from the first part of Watt], trans. Jón frá Pálmholti and Pétur Knútsson, Tímarit Máls og menningar, Vol. 32, No. 3–4, 243–248.
(1972), Eimyrja [Embers], trans. Inga Huld Hákonardóttir, Icelandic State Radio (Unpublished manuscript).
(1977), Endatafl [Endgame], trans. Gylfi Baldursson and Jakob Möller, Icelandic National Theatre (Unpublished manuscript).
(1986), Úr Molloy [the opening pages of Molloy], trans. Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson, DV, April 26, 36–37.
(1987), Sögur, leikrit, ljóð [Stories, Plays, Poems], trans. Árni Ibsen. Reykjavík: Svart á hvítu.
(1991), Andardráttur [Breath], trans. anonymous, Bjartur og frú Emilía, Vol. 2. No. 1, 51.
(1994), Við bíðum eftir Godot [Waiting for Godot], trans. Eyvindur Erlendsson, Selfoss Theatre Group (Unpublished manuscript).
(1994), Eintal [A Piece of Monologue], trans. Árni Ibsen, Tímarit Máls og menningar, Vol. 55, No. 2, 56–61.
(2001), Molloy, trans. Trausti Steinsson, Reykjavík: Ormstunga.
(2019), Ekki ég, Fótatak and Ein ræða [Not I, Footfalls and A Piece of Monologue], trans. Trausti Ólafsson, Scene-Stealer Theatre (Unpublished).
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Eysteinsson, Á. (2021). Embraces – Empty Spaces: Translation and Reception of Samuel Beckett in Iceland. In: Fernández, J.F., Sardin, P. (eds) Translating Samuel Beckett around the World. New Interpretations of Beckett in the Twenty-First Century. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71730-8_1
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