Happy Valentine’s Day!
Stephan and Helga had an enduring friendship – having known each other since he was 15 and she was 12 – and they loved each other deeply. Stephan’s poetry was not overly romantic, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t write poems for Helga (both before and after they were married).
“In 1930, three years after her husband’s death, Helga was approached by an Icelandic magazine, Saga, regarding any personal verses that Stephansson might have composed solely for her eyes. After some hesitation, she consented. A handful of poems that her husband had written to her in their youth and that she had saved was published for the first time. The Icelandic community was curious. After all, Stephansson was known as a cerebral poet not given to flights of romantic ardour. Yet, the poems while not displaying the characteristics of his later works revealed a young man passionate for the young woman with whom he had fallen in love. The publication of the poems gave a glimpse into another facet of this complicated skald. Just as importantly, they brought attention to Stephansson’s wife and soul mate, Helga Jónsdóttir.” (from Poet of the Rocky Mountains, p. 94)
You can read them here in Saga: Missirisrit Vol. 6, No. 2 Sep-Feb 1930-31.
Posted on Stephansson House Provincial Historic Site Facebook Page
