The first collection of Italian contemporary poetry in Icelandic is published in Reykjavík

Blue Wood – the scent is elsewhere.” The first collection of contemporary Italian poetry in Icelandic

The anthology Legno azzurro – il profumo è altrove. Poesia italiana contemporanea (original title Blá tré – ilmurinn er annars staðar: ítölsk samtímaljóð) is now available as an e-book, published by Forlagið.

The volume is the result of the “Poesia in Residenza” – Iceland project, the second edition of the award promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Cultural Institute in Oslo to support the dissemination of contemporary Italian literature and its translation abroad. The poet Elisa Biagini, winner of the call for applications, spent a period in residence at the Gröndalshús House of Literature in Reykjavík, where she undertook the editorial curation and translation of the anthology in collaboration with the Icelandic translator Sigurbjörg Þrastardóttir.

Legno azzurro aims to offer the Icelandic public the opportunity to discover the voices of ten of the most significant contemporary Italian poets: Milo De Angelis, Antonella Anedda, Valerio Magrelli, Stefano Dal Bianco, Giovanna Frene, Francesca Matteoni, Federico Italiano, Marco Simonelli, Carmen Gallo and Elisa Biagini herself. Their works explore themes such as nature, memory, history and personal experience, weaving together references to the heritage of fairy tales with allusions to the contemporary world and technology. The works collected in the anthology are also distinguished by the variety of their expressive forms, ranging from free verse to the traditional metrical and rhyming structures.

The project was supported by Reykjavík, a UNESCO City of Literature, with the participation of Milan, a UNESCO City of Literature, and the Casa della Poesia in Milan, demonstrating the value of international collaboration between cultural institutions, whilst also confirming the role of artist residencies as privileged spaces for encounter, research and exchange. The aim of the project, which comprised two editions held in 2024 and 2025 respectively, was to help renew the cultural and literary dialogue between Italy and Iceland.

The book (in Icelandic with the original text alongside) is available at the following link: https://www.forlagid.is/vara/bla-tre-ilmurinn-er-annars-stadar-itolsk-samtimaljod/

Cover image: Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir, Blátt lauf – Blue Leaf (2025)