Nína Björk Árnadóttir was born in northern Iceland and grew up in Reykjavík, trained with the Reykjavík theatre company’s theatre and drama school from 1961 to 1964, continued her studies in Copenhagen in the 1970s, and has worked as an actress and translator. She is married and has three sons.
Her debut poetry collection Ung ljóð attracted attention with its minimalist and muted poems about the poor, frightened, and despised members of our society. Her collection of poems Svartur hestur í myrkrinu, 1988, is set in a psychiatric ward, where violence, insanity, and the confinement of women create ambiguous metaphors.
The best known of her lyrical, modernist dramas on the same theme are Fótatak, 1972, which was performed by the Reykjavík theatre company; Súkkulaði handa Silju, 1982, which was performed at the National Theater, Reykjavík, in 1982-1983; and Lif til einhvers, broadcast on Icelandic TV in 1987.
Her other major works are Undarlegt er að spyrja mennina (P), 1968, Börnin í garðinum (P), 1971, Undir teppinu hennar ömmu (P), 1984, Móðir kona meyja (N), 1987, and Þriðja ástin (N), 1995.
Additions by the editorial team 2011:
The above biography was first published in 1998. Since then, Árnadóttir issued the poetry collection Alla leið hingað, 1996.
