The Icelandic twin sisters and poets Herdís and Ólína Andrésdóttir were born in Flatey in Breiðafjörður on 13 June 1858 and died in Reykjavík, Ólína in 1935. They published a volume of poetry together in 1924, under the title Ljóðmæli [Poetry], an expanded edition arriving in 1976. Because of this publishing process, the sisters are often regarded as a unity, but in fact they were separated in childhood and rarely met again until their old age in Reykjavík. There is also a considerable difference between their poetry. Ólína was more prolific and clearly more serious about her poetry, and about 2/3 of the original Ljóðmæli edition are by her. Thus she was one of several female poets of her generation who composed þulur, much in the vein of her relative Theodóra Thoroddsen who encouraged the sisters...
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Citation: Jakobsson, Ármann. "Ólína Andrésdóttir". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 February 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15034, accessed 13 December 2025.]
