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Kristján Níels Jónsson Júlíus (1859-1936), a satirical poet, was born in Akureyri, Iceland. He immigrated to North America in 1878 spending his first few years in Canada. Known as K.N. / Káinn (pronounced Kow-Enn) he labored as a farm hand for most of his adult life in our rural community and was never married. Many of the graves in the Thingvalla Cemetery were dug by him.
K. N. Julius was a unique, beloved poet and humorist. His drinking songs and poems may have contributed to his reputation as a heavy drinker. A complete collection, Kviðlingar og kvæðí(Ditties and Poems) was published in 1945, edited by Richard Beck. The original book, Kviðlingar was published in 1920.
He composed many obituaries and always had a poem for every occasion. Beyond his mischievous tone in his poems, he also portrays warmth and wisdom combining both the English and Icelandic language. His monument, originally built in 1940, was reconstructed in 1999. The following description of K. N. is taken from an old news clipping:
“He went at his task as if he were making up a bed for a tired friend, said his close friend, Dr. Rögnvaldur Pétursson, and most of those buried there were the poet’s personal friends.
Here, he too, rests now on the grassy flat, with a small stone at his head, and at the side of the church stands a stately monument bearing his likeness. It was placed there by his friends and admirers in the United States and Canada, but designed by his neighbors, who thankfully remember the poet whose gentle humor lightened their burdens and eased their struggles for half a century, brought sunshine into their homes, and was an ever active geysir of fun and easy, original wit.
Poor as he was in terms of material possessions, K.N. enriched these communities and influenced their cultural atmosphere as no other man has.”
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