#icelandic literature

[diana-andraste]

The Wolves Pursuing Sól and Máni, J.C. Dollman, 1909

Hati and Sköll chase the sun and the moon in H.A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber's Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas.

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 24: Lost World Literature

[gennsoup]

Everything grows from something else, as if nature were forever having second thoughts, pausing, pursuing a new idea or changing its mind halfway.

Sjón, From the Mouth of the Whale

[fleurdusoir]

L’honneur est la seule chose absolument nécessaire parce que, tout bien pesé, c’est la seule chose qui élève un homme – et la seule qui vive après lui ici-bas quand lui-même est mort et disparu.

Gunnar Gunnarsson, Frères jurés

[maddiesbookshelves]

My friend went to Iceland and she brought this back for me:

The Edda is one of the pillars of Icelandic literature and contains "the most extensive account of Norse myths and legends that has survived from the Middle Ages" (from the back cover).

I've never read anything like this (aside from simplified versions of Chrétien de Troyes as a kid maybe), but I love mythology and I've always wanted to read about Norse myths. Hope I like it!

Mon amie m'a ramené un souvenir d'Islande:

Edda est un des piliers de la littérature islandaise et contient "le récit le plus complet des mythes et légendes nordiques qui nous soit parvenu du Moyen Âge" (d'après la quatrième de couverture).

Je n'ai jamais rien lu de semblable (à part peut-être des versions simplifiées de Chrétien de Troyes quand j'étais petite), mais j'adore la mythologie et j'ai toujours voulu en savoir plus sur les mythes nordiques. J'espère que je vais aimer !

[onenakedfarmer]

Currently Reading

Anthology POEMS OF TODAY FROM TWENTY-FIVE ICELANDIC POETS

Selected and translated by Alan Boucher

[illustration-alcove]

Gosia Herba’s book covers for Melissa Febos’s Girlhood and Fríða Ísberg’s The Itch.

[cimeret]

“Film is thus immoral by its very nature, transforming the actor into a fetish and fostering perversion in the viewer, who allows himself to be seduced like a moth to the flame. The difference lies in that the cinema audience’s appointment is with the cold flicker of the flame rather than the searing fire itself. The moth burns up, but the viewer can, without fear, surrender to his escalating desire and seek out the experience over and over again, as is, alas, far too often the case.”

—Dr. G. Árnason, excerpt from “Cinema and Mental Disorders,” The Nation 23 (1916)”

Moonstone: The boy who never was, Sjón

[littlelibraryoflittledreams]

[thewildpeartree]

Icelandic Authors on Icelandic Literature, dir. Einar Egilsson (2020); Part 3/3

[soracities]

Coral, spread fingers, birch twigs, a loosely knotted fishing net, crystals, river deltas, ivy, mackerel clouds, women’s hair…diverse as these phenomena are and formed from opposing elements, nevertheless they all revolve around the invisible joints, their opposite forms touch even though they are far apart…and if I imitate their form, reaching my arms to the sky—moving them together and apart in turn, waving them to and fro—then [I am] no longer alone…I am the brother of all that divides, all that curls, all that intertwines, all that waves…

Sjón, From the Mouth of the Whale (trans. Victoria Cribb)

[p1325]

In Honor of my Nordic Literature, History, Geography, and Linguistics exam on Thursday. Here are some of the books I read so far:

Henrik Ibsen - A Doll's House (1879) Although this is a theater play. I really loved it to be honest with you. It felt very contemporary despite being set in the 19th century. It's the definition of a humanist play/novel.

Jonas Gardell - Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves (2012-2013) This book is made up of a series called Love, Disease, and Death. It was very emotional and beautiful. It reminded me a lot of a TV show called ''It's A Sin'' or ''Pose''

Henning Mankell - Faceless Killers (1991) They say that Swedish crime fiction is the best in the world and they didn't lie. This book was very intense, sad, and well done in my opinion.

Pär Lagerkvist - The Dwarf (1946) Set in my home country, the book really analyses hate in a very deep way. It was definitely a great reading for sure

Selma Lagerlöf - The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906) This other book was another great discovery. It's really beautiful and it kinda reminded me of Pinocchio a bit. I loved it honestly

Karin Boye-Kallocaina (1940) Published at the beginning of World War II, this book really focuses on the horrors of authoritarian regimes. I guess this book was the inspiration for George Orwell's 1984

Ludvig Holberg - Niels Klim's Underground Travels (1741) This other reading was really good as well. The plot was very reminiscent of an underground Robinson Crusoe. However, I think this other book was the inspiration for Jules Verne's novel

Snorri Sturluson - Prose Edda (Early 12th Century) This one is a must. If you're interested in Scandinavian Literature and Cultures, this one is the best choice. This book has a mixture of Christian elements but mostly Norse mythology. This is the book where all the Norse myths come from.

The exam will be on Thursday. I hope it goes well !!

[booksandteaandstuff]

Happy Jolabokaflod! Get your books and chocolates... the time is coming!

[gennsoup]

Kings may come and kings may go but the kitchen hearth remains unchanged, with its fire, food, and gossip.

Sjón, From the Mouth of the Whale

[rimouskis]

Bec is Gretzky is Shakespeare, what does that make Sid? Is Mario Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters the weirdos from the Detroit, who is Bryon?

What if we take it a step further and make everyone different shakespearean characters? I vote for Mark Friedman as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream

[itty-britty-blog]

This seems like a good time to remind the world of Makt Myrkanna, or Powers of Darkness, the insane Icelandic Dracula fanfic by Valdimar Ásmundsson that managed to pass itself off as just a regular translation for OVER 100 YEARS and no one noticed.

Anyway, it’s a great read, check it out