One of the salient figures of modern Icelandic poetry, Jóhannes mastered both the intricate traditional forms and the modern, but as an outspoken, idealistic and sometimes scathing critic of political institutions, he courted controversy and often drew the ire of political opponents.

He was a spokesman for peace throughout his life and fought vigorously against Iceland's occupation by foreign armies.

Despite poverty, Jóhannes was educated and graduated as a primary school teacher in 1921, a profession he practiced for more than a decade, first in the countryside and then in Reykjavík.

From then on he worked as an editor and an author, first in Reykjavík and then in 1940 when he moved to Hveragerði, a small town in the South of Iceland which became known as the Artists Colony in the 1940s.

Jóhannes received awards for his celebratory verses in the Parliament Millennium Celebrations of 1930 and the Republic of Iceland Festivities in 1944.