In June 2023, the Icelandic poet and writer Thorvaldur S. Helgason was a resident of the Epic Residencies project in Košice. Thorvaldur studied theatre arts and creative writing at Icelandic universities. In 2016, he published his debut poetry collection, Draumar á þvottasnúru (Dreams on a clothesline), with Partus Press as part of the Emerging Poets series. In 2018 he was awarded a Grassroots Grant from the Icelandic Literature Centre, under which he wrote his first large-scale collection of poetry, “Gangverk” (The Hours), which will be published by Mál og menning in 2019. His third collection of poetry, manndómur (manhood), was published by the same publisher in 2022.
Thorvaldur S. Helgason works as a publicist and has also worked as a radio dramaturg. He is the author of several radio series such as Orðin sem við skiljum ekki (Words we do not understand). In this series, he discusses the themes of Andri S. Magnason’s book “Of Time and Water” and interviews scientists, philosophers and activists about the problems of climate change, which are “bigger and more complex than words can describe.” Thorvaldur S. Helgason’s work also has overlaps into the visual arts. In 2022, he co-curated an exhibition and art publication project called “Status Check.
The project features a dozen visual artists and literary writers/authors of the same generation, and creates a space for interdisciplinary communication.
During his residency in Košice, Thorvaldur worked on his debut novel titled “Listi yfirómögulega liti” (List of unreal colours). The protagonist of the narrative is a young girl, Glódís, who experiences synesthesia – a state in which she perceives colours as connected to specific emotions. Set in Iceland in the near future, the novel follows the consequences of the science fiction technology of artificial vision.
