Laura Salverson

Laura Salverson
Born
Laura Goodman

(1890-12-09)December 9, 1890
Winnipeg, Manitoba
DiedJuly 13, 1970(1970-07-13) (aged 79)
Toronto, Ontario
Writing career
GenreNovel

Laura Goodman Salverson (December 9, 1890 – July 13, 1970) was a Canadian author. Her work reflected her Icelandic heritage. Two of her books won Governor General's awards for literature.

Early life

Salverson was born Laura Goodman in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of Lárus Guðmundsson and Ingibjörg Guðmundsdóttir who immigrated to Winnipeg in 1887 from Grundir in Bolungarvík, Iceland. She married George Salverson in 1913.

Career

While a young housewife and mother, Salverson began writing poetry. Several of her poems were published by local newspapers.

In 1923, Salverson published her first novel. The Viking Heart. She went on to write several novels based on Icelandic sagas and themes. Many of the characters in her stories were Scandinavian and German.

Salverson wrote about her experiences with poverty and racial prejudice. Her writings reflected her belief that Icelandic immigrants to Canada should maintain and support their Icelandic culture. In 1939, she wrote an autobiography.

Works

References

  1. 1 2 Laura Salverson in The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  2. ↑ Merna Forster (12 November 2014). Canadian Heroines 2-Book Bundle: 100 Canadian Heroines / 100 More Canadian Heroines. Dundurn. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-4597-3087-8.
  3. ↑ George Melnyk (1998). The Literary History of Alberta: From Writing-on-Stone to World War Two. University of Alberta. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-0-88864-296-7.
  4. ↑ Terrence Craig (30 October 2010). Racial Attitudes in English-Canadian Fiction, 1905-1980. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-55458-661-5.
  5. ↑ Julie Rak (2 August 2009). Auto/biography in Canada: Critical Directions. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-55458-771-1.
  6. ↑ Daisy Neijmann (1997). Icelandic Voice in Canadian Letters: The Contribution of Icelandic-Canadian Writers to Canadian Literature. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-88629-317-8.
  7. ↑ Norah Story (June 1967). The Oxford companion to Canadian history and literature. Oxford University Press. p. 744.