Charlotte Bronte (Charlotte Brontë)

by Gerður Kristný
 

The sofa where
your sister died
so short that
she must have
been curled up

The table
where you used to sit
barely larger
than a doormat

..

Your handwriting
delicate like
the pattern in the
misty-white lace cap
displayed on
a tiny doll head
that gazes eyeless
over my shoulder

 

Sófinn þar sem
systir þín dó
svo stuttur að
hún hlýtur að
hafa legið í hnipri

Borðið
sem þið sátuð við
varla stærra
en dyramotta

Rithönd þín
fínleg eins og
mynstrið í
þokuhvítri blúnduhettu
sem situr á
agnarsmáum brúðuhaus
og horfir augnlaus
yfir öxlina á mér

 

Translator:

Sola Bjarnadóttir-O’Connell is a native Icelander who has lived in New York for the past 30 years.  She is pursuing a life-long interest in bringing contemporary poetry and literature to an English-speaking audience and is currently working on translating a collection of Flash fiction to be published in Iceland.  Sola is recipient of the 2013 Leif and Ingrid Sjöberg Translation Award conferred by the American Scandinavian Foundation.  She divides her time between New York City and Reykjavik.

 

Gerður Kristný

Gerður Kristný

Gerður Kristný (b. 1970) is among the leading contemporary Icelandic writers, accolated with numerous awards for her non-fictional work as well as her children books, novels and poetry. For the past two decades, she has produced a vast oeuvre, ranging from journalistic works on various subjects to six volumes of poetry, for which she is best known internationally.  She received the Icelandic Literature Awards and was nominated for the prestigious Nordic Council Awards in 2010 for Blóðhófnir (Bloodhoof), her modern take on the ancient Nordic myth, told primarily in the Eddic poem Skírnismál. Gerður Kristný’s poetry has been translated into about thirty languages and she has participated in numerous festivals and residencies, such as IWP in Iowa, USA, and the Ingmar Bergman residency on Fåro Island in Sweden.

View profile

SUPPORT

DIVERSE VOICES
IN LITERATURE

If you enjoy our magazine’s print and online issues and believe in our mission of promoting diverse voices, please consider donating so we can continue to publish such relevant and distinctive work here at Solstice.
© 2026 Solstice Literary Magazine
Terms & Privacy Policy Job Opportunities
The content we publish does not necessarily reflect the points of views of the magazine.
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
Subscribe for the latest news, fresh voices, and unique perspectives
Get the latest news, events, and contests—plus early access to our newest stories and features.