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Biography
I am a doctoral researcher in comparative literature specialising in English and Nordic literature and their interspersions with theories of affect, hermeneutics, and aesthetics. I am also a literary translator of Icelandic works, and have been involved with projects on Old Icelandic texts (LARA) and North American-Icelandic manuscripts (Í fótspor Árna Magnússonar í Vesturheimi) under the auspices of the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. Currently, I am also working on a translation of Gyrðir Elíasson's short story collection, Milli trjánna. My master's thesis discusses Gyrðir Elíasson's works in relation to affect theory, bridging the latter with Icelandic literature for the first time. It is currently being reworked as a monograph.
I have been a research editing assistant for the volume works Íslenskar bókmenntir: Saga og samhengi I and II (ed. Margrét Eggertsdóttir, Sveinn Yngvi Egilsson, Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir, Ármann Jakobsson, Ásta Kristín Benediktsdóttir, Jón Yngvi Jóhannsson) and Arfur aldanna I and II (authored by Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir).
I have been presenting in conferences and symposiums, as well as chaired panels, from my undergraduate years since 2015, on authors and topics such as: Beowulf, Norse mythology, Ian McEwan, Ólafur Elíasson, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, Hélène Cixous, and Tove Jansson. My essays on Victorian literature, Shakespeare, and critical theory have won departmental prizes at the University of Manitoba.
I am known better as Brynjarr Þór Eyjólfsson/ Perry/ Per Mendoza.
Teaching
I have played supporting roles in the teaching of courses on Introductory Icelandic (University of Manitoba) and Translation studies (University of Iceland). I also teach Icelandic literature at the Icelandic Summer School at the University of Iceland in collaboration with the host university and the University of Alberta. Currently I teach Swedish courses at the University of British Columbia.
Research
My dissertation aims towards a theory of absence in contemporary literature by delving into a philosophical inquiry on the dialectical relationship between existential experiences of absence and the arts.
My other research interests include depictions of glaciers in Icelandic literature and culture; Surrealist, Impressionist, and Abstract art; and contemporary poetry. Other authors whose works I have been tackling include: Gyrðir Elíasson, Sjón, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Ian McEwan, William Shakespeare, Yahya Hassan, Tove Jansson, and Johanna Holmström.
Among my affiliations are those with the Centre for the Study of Storytelling, Experientiality and Memory (SELMA), the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (SASS), as well as the Association for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies in Canada (AASSC), for which I am the secretary. My work is also affiliated with the University of Iceland and the University of British Columbia.
In addition to my own doctoral research, I am also taking part in the projects Lesið í sköpunarkraft Vestfjarða og Stranda and í fótspor Árna Magnússonar, both in collaboration with the University of Iceland.
My doctoral research is supported by the Canadian Initiative for Nordic Studies (CINS).
The following are my current paper projects for 2025-2026:
-A book chapter exploring the aesthetics of the poems of Steinn Steinarr, Baudelaire, and Mallarmé
-A paper on surrealism and the aesthetics of curiosity in Sjón's Rökkurbýsnir
-A paper on the impasse and revolution of Bjartur of Summerhouses in Independent People by Halldór Laxness
-A paper on Dimmumót by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir
-A paper on art and absence in Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven
-A paper on Ulla-Lena Lundberg's Is
-A paper on the contemporary moment and the force of art in Rachel Cusk's Parade
-Various papers on ecocritical perspectives on glaciers and icebergs in literature and culture
-Various papers on Gyrðir Elíasson's works
-Various encyclopedia articles about Icelandic literature for The Literary Encyclopedia