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Myers Literary Guide:
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The North-East
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EINAR BENEDIKTSSON (1864 - 1940) Icelandic poet and entrepreneur, Benediktsson became a fervent nationalist, coming to believe that only massive inward investment could bring prosperity to his native country. He spent many years of his life travelling round Europe in unsuccessful attempts to bring this about. Legends have formed around his vivid personality: he is supposed to have sold the Northern Lights to a gullible tourist. He published five volumes of dazzlingly ornate poetry that harked back to the scaldic tradition of intricate metaphor and vocabulary. One of these poems is a sustained hymn of praise to Newcastle, the Tyne and the Royal Navy.
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