On Halldór Laxness’s birthday, 23 April, the exhibition Að vera kjur eða fara burt? (To stay or go away?) was opened. It marks the centenary of Barn náttúrunnar (Child of Nature), Halldór’s first novel.
The exhibition is a joint project of the National and University Library of Iceland, Gljúfrasteinn, Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature and the publisher Forlagið. The Museum Council of Iceland and the Friends of Gljúfrasteinn support the project.
Many people came to the opening. Besides the National Librarian, speeches were given by the writer Pétur Gunnarsson; Unnur Guðjónsdóttir, who handed over audio recordings of an interview with Laxness; Haukur Ingvarsson, the curator of the exhibition; and Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture, who opened the exhibition. Þorgerður Ása Aðalsteinsdóttir sang a few songs to poems by Laxness, accompanying herself on the guitar.