health
February 11, 2026
The place that stayed with me: I would not have become a writer were it not for Iceland
As a teenager I wondered what I would have in common with this Nordic island. Then my teacher gave me a book of poetry
TL;DR
- The author spent a year as a foreign exchange student in the Icelandic fishing town of Sauðárkrókur.
- The harsh winter environment and feeling of isolation initially challenged her, but writing became a way to process her experiences.
- An Icelandic teacher, Geirlaugur, encouraged her writing by gifting her an anthology of Icelandic nature poems and predicting she would be published.
- This encouragement, coupled with the discovery of Iceland's strong literary tradition (citing Halldór Laxness and the Sagas), solidified her confidence in pursuing writing as a vocation.
- The author credits Iceland and its cultural appreciation for literature with enabling her to become a writer.
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