Mark your calendars! Ófeigur Sigurðsson will be at this year's LitQuake Festival on October 13!
Words Around the World: A Sense of Place
Oct 13, 12-1pm, 2174 Market St.
Geographic sense of place informs a strong and deeply felt identity, and in the case of fiction, this place is also reflected in character, narrative, atmosphere, voice, and language. Hear novelists Carol Bensimon (We All Loved Cowboys) and Ófeigur Sigurðsson (Öræfi: The Wasteland) discuss their recent works, set respectively within a road trip through Brazil, and the desolate landscape of Iceland. Moderated by author Lucy Jane Bledsoe. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation
FULL SCHEDULE AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 10!
Sponsored by the Icelandic Literature Center and with support from Iceland Naturally
Ófeigur Sigurðsson was born in Reykjavík in 1975. He is a graduate of the University of Iceland with a degree in philosophy. He made his poetry debut in 2001 with Skál fyrir skammdeginu (Cheers to the Winter Darkness), and published his first novel, Áferð (Texture), in 2005. Since then, he has published six books of poetry and three novels, in addition to his work as an accomplished translator. Sigurðsson was awarded the European Union Prize for Literature in 2011 for his novel, Jon, making him the first Icelander to receive the prize. His novel Öræfi: The Wasteland was published in Iceland in 2014 to great critical and commercial acclaim, and received the Book Merchant’s Prize in 2014 and the Icelandic Literature Prize in 2015. He currently resides in Antwerp, Belgium.
ABOUT THE BOOK
“Sigurðsson is without a doubt one of the best writers of his generation.” — Frettabladid Daily
After a grueling solo expedition on the Vatnajökull Glacier, Austrian toponymist Bernhardt Fingerberg returns to civilization, barely alive, and into the care of Dr. Lassi. The doctor, suspicious of his story, attempts to discover his real motives for venturing into the treacherous wastelands of Iceland — but the secrets she unravels may be more dangerous than they’re worth.
About the Festival
One of the West Coast’s most beloved annual literary festivals, this smart, eclectic, 76% free ten-day gathering draws booklovers of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy words and ideas, straight from the artists’ mouths. Now with 160 venues in its 18th year, the festival’s uniquely portable format provides even greater access to literature.
Litquake nurtures and amplifies an ever-expanding community of conversation and engagement in the Bay Area’s cultural landscape. Litquake’s mission is to contribute to the creative economy at large and make more literature more available to readers of all ages through ever-evolving performances, readings, workshops, and film programs during the annual festival and its year-round programming. By commingling public life and literary art, Litquake uses literature as an agent of public good.