Thorarinn Eldjarn’s collected poems represents a veritable treasure trove of poetry: all eight of his books of poetry through 2008 and selected poems from five of his books of children’s poetry, nearly four hundred poems in total. The collection demonstrates his wide poetic range: biting polemics, innocent fun, sorrow and heartache, philosophical speculations, idylls, wordplay and reflections on life, history, the land and the language. Much of the work is closed form poetry structured with rhyme scheme and alliteration, but other poems are more open in form as the poet shows equal skill in various styles.

This collection includes Thorarinn’s eight books of poetry reproduced in their entirety along with selected pieces from five of his books of children’s poetry. His books of poetry are Poems (Kvæði, 1974), Disney Rhymes (Disneyrímur, 1978), Stanzas (Erindi, 1979), Sharp (Ydd, 1984), The High Flying Mole (Hin háfleyga moldvarpa, 1991), Written (Ort, 1991), Ways and Borders (Hættir og mörk, 2005) and The Mountains Will Have to Do (Fjöllin verða að duga, 2007). The children’s poems are selected from the books Madfly (Óðfluga, 1991), World Ring (Heimskringla, 1992), Comet (Halastjarna, 1997), Froots and Vegedibles (Grannmeti og átvextir, 2001) and Verses, Curses and Tosh (Gælur, fælur og thvælur, 2007).