On this day 123 years ago, April 23, 1902 (March 16, 1902 lunar calendar), the Icelandic novelist Laxness was born. April 23, 1902 Laxness, Icelandic novelist and playwright, was born in Reykjavik. H. K. Laxness, formerly known as Hador Guzyonsson, published his first novel "Son of Nature" at the age of 17. Traveling abroad at the age of 20, he was exposed to modernist art schools in Germany, Austria, and France, and was interested in Expressionism and Surrealism. In 1923, he lived in seclusion in a monastery in the Duchy of Luxembourg, converted to Catholicism, and wrote a novel "Under the Holy Mountain". Due to his interest in religion, he went to the Jesuits in London, England to engage in research, and later went to Rome and other places to write several books on Catholicism. In 1927, he published an autobiographical novel "Weavers from Kashmir", which is an important work of his and a landmark in Icelandic literature. In 1929, he went to the United States and Canada to meet Upton Sinclair. At this time, he came into contact with communist theory and wrote articles praising socialism. In 1930, he returned to Iceland. In the 1930s, he published multi-volume novels "Clean Vines", "Birds on the Coast", "Independent People", and "Light of the World". In the 1940s, he wrote three novels collectively known as "The Icelandic Bell". Since then, there have been "Saga in Praise of Heroes", "Chronicles of the Village of Brekkot", and "Paradise". The work runs through a critical spirit of society, speaking out for the oppressed, and claiming to be a "left-wing socialist". Laxnez also enjoyed an international reputation. He was awarded the Stalin Prize for Literature in 1953. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955.