Stephan G. Stephansson
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Stephan G. Stephansson (October 3, 1853 - August 10, 1927), a Western Icelander, poet, and farmer. His original name was Stefán Guðmundur Guðmundsson.
He was born in Skagafjörður, Iceland but emigrated to Wisconsin, USA in 1873, when only 19 years old. In 1889 he moved to Alberta, Canada. He did not see Iceland again until 1917, then 64 years old.
Stephansson was uneducated and worked hard all his life. He wrote after work, and, being an insomniac, he often wrote till dawn. He was under the influence of the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson and they shared the same beliefs in many matters, including, but not limited to, equal rights for both sexes. Stephansson wrote only in Icelandic and had great influence in his former home country.
His poems were published in a six volume book called "Andvökur" (Sleepless nights).