Snorri Hjartarson brought to modern Icelandic poetry an aesthetic precision that has given him a revered place in contemporary Icelandic literature. Although his creative output was quantitatively modest, his attention to the meaning and sonority of language quickly placed him among the most important twentieth-century Icelandic poets. Snorri was, moreover, a respected literary editor and critic. His poetry and literary work complemented his long career as chief librarian of Borgarbókasafn Reykjavíkur (the Reykjavík Municipal Library).

Snorri Hjartarson was the middle child among the three sons of Hjörtur Snorrason and Ragnheidur Torfadóttir. He was born at Hvanneyri in Borgarfjördur on 22 April 1906. Borgarfjördur, the fjord on which Hvanneyri is situated, is on Iceland's west coast, not far northeast of Reykjavík. Hvanneyri is in a locale along the fjord called Andarkíll and has...