Sjón facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sjón
Sjón in 2014
Born	Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (1962-08-27) 27 August 1962 (age 62) Reykjavík, Iceland
Occupation	Poet Novelist Lyricist
Nationality	Icelandic
Genre	Fiction Surrealism
Notable works	The Blue Fox (2003) From the Mouth of the Whale (2008) I've Seen It All (2000)

Sjón at the LiteratureXchange Festival in Aarhus, Denmark (2019)

Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (born August 27, 1962), known as Sjón (pronounced "SHOHN"), is a famous writer from Iceland. His name, Sjón, means "sight" and is a shorter version of his first name. He is a talented poet, novelist, and screenwriter. Sjón often works with the singer Björk. He has also performed with the band The Sugarcubes using the name Johnny Triumph. His books have been translated into 30 different languages around the world.

Early Life

Sjón was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. He grew up in the Breiðholt area of the city with his mother. He started writing at a young age. His first book of poetry, called Sýnir (which means "Visions"), was published in 1978 when he was just 16 years old.

Sjón's Career

Sjón was one of the people who started a group called Medúsa. This group was known for its "neo-surrealist" art style, which is a bit like dreams and imagination. He became an important part of the art scene in Reykjavík.

He has also been active in the Icelandic music world since the early 1980s. Sjón worked with many well-known musicians. In 1987, he was a guest singer on a rare song called "Luftgitar" by The Sugarcubes. For this song, he used the name Johnny Triumph. There was even a music video where Sjón played air guitar with Björk. He sometimes joined The Sugarcubes for their last song at concerts. This included their special reunion show in Reykjavík in 2006.

Working with Björk

Sjón and Björk first met when they were teenagers. They even had a small band together called Rocka Rocka Drum. Later, when Björk started her solo music career in the 1990s, Sjón wrote lyrics for her songs.

In 2000, they worked together on the song "I've Seen It All" for the movie Dancer in the Dark. Because of this song, Sjón and Björk were nominated for "Best Original Song" at both the 2001 Golden Globe Awards and the 2001 Academy Awards. A few years later, Sjón appeared in a documentary about Björk called Inside Björk. In 2004, Björk sang "Oceania" at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens, Greece. Sjón and Björk wrote this song together.

Writing Books and Films

In 2007, Sjón wrote the original story and screenplay for an animated movie called Anna and the Moods. He also lent his voice to a character in the film, Dr. Artmann.

Sjón also helped write the movie Lamb with Valdimar Jóhannsson. This film came out in 2021 and was chosen to represent Iceland at the 2022 Academy Awards. Lamb also won many awards at film festivals around the world, including the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

From August to December 2021, Sjón was a special writer staying at the Literaturhaus Zurich in Zurich.

In 2022, Sjón co-wrote the film The Northman with director Robert Eggers. This movie is an epic story about Vikings and revenge, based on the old legend of Prince Amleth. Björk also had a small role in the film as a seeress.

About Sjón's Life

Sjón has lived and worked in London for some time. However, he now lives in central Reykjavík with his wife. He has two adult children.

Sjón's Books and Works

Novels

• Night of Steel ("Stálnótt", 1987)
• Angel, Stovehat and Strawberries ("Engill, pípuhattur og jarðarber", 1989)
• Night of the Lemon (1993)
• Made in Secret / Your Eyes Saw Me ("Augu þín sáu mig", 1994)
• The Story of the Great Cap ("Sagan af húfunni fínu", 1995)
• Númi and his Seven Heads ("Númi og höfuðin sjö", 2000)
• With a Quivering Tear ("Með titrandi tár", 2001)
• The Story of the Strange Bird ("Sagan af furðufugli", 2002)
• The Blue Fox ("Skugga-Baldur", 2003)
• The Whispering Muse / The Splinter from Argo ("Argóarflísin", 2005)
• From the Mouth of the Whale / The Marvels of Twilight ("Rökkurbýsnir", 2008)
• Moonstone – The Boy Who Never Was ("Mánasteinn – drengurinn sem aldrei var til", 2013)
• CoDex 1962 (2016)
• Red Milk ("Korngult hár, grá augu", 2019)

Poetry

• Visions ("Sýnir", 1978)
• Madonna (1979)
• Birgitta (1979)
• The Blind Man's Bicycle ("Reiðhjól blinda mannsins", 1982)
• The Book of Illusions ("Sjónhverfingabókin", 1983)
• Oh, Isn't it Wild? (1985)
• Toy Castles ... ("Leikfangakastalar", 1986)
• The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes, poems from 1978 to 1986 ("Drengurinn með röntgenaugun", 1986)
• there is something I can't remember about the clouds ("Ég man ekki eitthvað um skýin", 1991)
• obscure figures ("myrkar fígúrur", 1998)
• the song of the stone collector ("söngur steinasafnarans", 2007)
• Collected Poems 1978–2008 ("Ljóðasafn 1978–2008", 2008)

Stage Plays and Operas

• "Shadow Play" ("Skuggaleikur") - a story for an opera based on a tale by H. C. Andersen (2006)
• "Gargoyles" ("Ufsagrýlur") - a play (2010)
• "Tales from a Sea Journey" - a play written with a theatre group (2011)
• "The Motion Demon" - a story for an opera based on short stories by Stefan Grabinski (2011)
• "Red Waters" - a story for an opera co-written with Keren Ann and Barði Jóhannsson (2011)
• "Hvörf" - a play co-written with Lab Loki theatre troupe (2013)
• "Folie à Deux" - a story for an opera with six songs, created with composer Emily Hall (2015)
• "Seven Stones" - a story for an opera co-written with Ondřej Adámek (2018)

Songs with Björk

• "Isobel" on the album Post (1995)
• "Bachelorette" and "Jóga" on the album Homogenic (1997)
• Lyrics for songs in the film Dancer in the Dark and its soundtrack, Selmasongs (2000)
• "Oceania", written for the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and on the album Medúlla (2004)
• "Wanderlust" on the album Volta (2007)
• "The Comet Song" in the film Moomins and the Comet Chase (2010)
• "Cosmogony", "Virus", and "Solstice" on the album Biophilia (2011)

Film Projects

• Reykjavik Whale-Watching Massacre (2009) (screenplay and story)
• Lamb (2021) (co-writer with Valdimar Jóhannsson)
• The Northman (2022) (co-writer with Robert Eggers)
• Klara: The Medium (in pre-production)

Awards and Recognition

Sjón, winner of the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2005

• 1995: DV Newspaper Culture Prize for Literature for Made in Secret
• 1998: Icelandic Broadcasting Service Writers Fund for his writing
• 2002: DV Newspaper Culture Prize for Literature for With A Quivering Tear
• 2005: Nordic Council's Literature Prize for The Blue Fox
• 2005: Icelandic Bookseller's Prize for Novel of the Year for The Whispering Muse

Sjón was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for the song "I've Seen It All" from the movie Dancer in the Dark.

In 2016, Sjón was chosen to contribute to the Future Library project. This project collects writings that will not be read until the year 2114.

See also

In Spanish: Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson para niños