Laura Goodman Salverson (1890–1970)

Laura Goodman (originally Guðmundsson) Salverson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of poor Icelandic immigrants who had fled poverty and their parents' opposition to their marriage to a new life in Canada. The family moved frequently throughout her childhood, living in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Mississippi before finally returning to Winnipeg in 1912. Because of her small stature and poor health, Laura was kept home from school and thus from learning English until she was 10 years old. However, she was was encouraged to learn about and appreciate Icelandic heritage and culture. She attended public school in Duluth, Minnesota but dropped out to work and help support the family. She held a number of odd jobs, such as itinerant nurse, dance hostess, hardware factory seamstress, milkmaid, and child carer, and read and studied on her own time. In 1913, she married George Salverson, a railway dispatcher of Norwegian descent, with whom she had a son. The demands of her husband's work meant that she again moved frequently across Canada. Her literary career began in 1922 when her short story "Hidden Fire" won a prize from the Women's Canadian Club of Saskatchewan. She soon became a regular contributor of stories, articles, and columns to periodicals such as the Toronto Star Weekly, MacLean's, Chatelaine, and Western Home Monthly. Her debut novel The Viking Heart was published in 1923, and was followed by further novels and romances. Her autobiography Confessions of an Immigrant's Daughter, which appeared in 1939, received the Governor General's Award. In addition, she taught creative writing, performed dramatic recitals of Norse sagas, and served as co-founder and editor in 1942-1943 of The Icelandic Canadian.