Linda Vilhjálmsdóttir has been one of Iceland's most highly regarded lyric poets since her poems began appearing in newspapers and magazines in 1982. Although passionate, the poet's language is simple and direct. Most striking in her work is the depth she achieves in her introspective poems and her original approach to nature poetry. From the start of her publishing career she has remained relatively untouched by social realism and strident politics and has, rather, explored the perennially important matters of poetry--love, death, betrayal, loss, and loneliness. The prevalence of these themes does not mean that Linda's work is uniformly sad and melancholy, as some critics have said. A rich vein of humor and ironic wit informs many of the poems.

Linda was born to Nonny Björnsdóttir and Vilhjálmur Ólafsson on 1 June 1958, Sjómannadaginn (National Seaman's Day) in...