The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1955, Page 40

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1955
m THE MEW
ICELANDIC WRITER WINS
NOBEL PRIZE
Halldor Kiljan Laxness
The 1955 Nobel prize for literature
was awarded to the Icelandic novelist,
Halldor Kiljan Laxness. He was a
strong contender for the prize, the
last two years, when it went to Sir
Winston Churchill and Ernest Hem-
ingway. The Swedish Academy of Let-
ters, in making the award, cited the
novelist’s “vivid epic writing, which
has renewed the great Icelandic nar-
rative art.”
Although a world traveller, Mr.
Laxness has written mostly of the
everyday life of the people of Iceland.
His best known books, outside his own
country, are “Independent People”
selected in 1946 by the Book-of-the-
Month Club in the United States and
“Salka Valka”, which was made into
a movie by a Swedish film company
early this year.
While the Icelanders recognize the
genius of this author and are pleased
that one of their race has received this
coveted prize, many are of the opinion
that his novels give an erroneous im-
pression of the country by portraying
mostly weak and stupid people and
social conditions which now do not
prevail.
On December 10th the 53-year-old
author, whose leftist political lean-
ings have caused bitter controversies,
will receive a cheque for 190,214
Swedish Crowns ($37,000) and the
Nobel insignia from the hands of King
Gustaf of Sweden at the traditional
Nobel ceremony in Stockholm.
★
DR. PERCIVAL JOHNSON
HONORED
Dr. Percival (Percy) Johnson of Flin
Flon was elected president of the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons of
Manitoba at the 70th annual meet-
ing held in September. A month later
he was inducted as fellow of the Am-
erican College of Surgeons at the Col-
lege’s Clinical Congress in Chicago.
Born at Gardar, North Dakota, Oc-
tober 28, 1907, son of Jon and GuK-
bjorg Johnson, he attended public
and high schools in that state and con-
tinued his studies in Winnipeg, gradu-
ating from the Manitoba Medical
College in 1934. He joined Dr. Peter
Guttormsson of Flin Flon in 1936, and
later succeeded him as head of the Flin
Flon Clinic. Dr. Johnson is a director
of the Health Plan of the Hudson Bay
Mining and Smelting Co.
His wife is the former Miss Elizabeth
Swain of Morris, Man. They have two
children: William Jon and Fjola Ann.