I bought a book

Of course this sentence needs to be sung to the tune of "I saw a sign, [and it opened up my eyes, I saw a sign]" by Ace of Base.

Yes, well, for the second night in a row, I went to the readings at Iðunn for the Reykjavik Literature Festival. That is the best way to experience both poetry and short stories, I would say. Tonight I just sort of spontaneously decided to stop by, since it was nice last night and since I was already in the city dropping off colleagues anyhow (colleagues who complained and complained about my driving, but I did not blame them really, since they are from the Faeroes, not Los Angeles, where my driving is considered conservative).

One of the poets was from Canada, and her poem about a man she met in Cairo, a silversmith, was so perfect, I decided that that was a book worth buying. Simple, real, intimate.

Comments

Unknown said…
Hvaða góða skáld er þetta? Þú gerir mann forvitinn. Meðal annarra orða, takk fyrir skemmtilegt blogg, frétti af þér í DV! Falleg færsla um bróðir þinn, hef einmitt hugsað á svipuðum nótum.
Bestu kveðjur, Solveig
September 12, 2009 at 12:49 AM
Lissy said…
Þetta er Dionne Brand. She was not scheduled to talk last night, is instead one of the authors on the schedule for today. But I lucked out (as usual) since she agreed to sub last night and I'm not going into the city today.

I was just thinking about that poem actually, about the idea of not wanting to spoil something that seemed almost too perfect. Reminds me actually (and here I show just how non-high culture I am) of a scene in City Slickers, where Jack Palance says he has only really loved once, and it was a woman he only caught a glimpse of across the prairie. He never even spoke to here. Dionne's poem about this silversmith was sort of like that, about the concern that somehow life would destroy perfection, rather than complete it. That the image can be held closer in mind and heart if it is not sullied with too much detail, too much reality.

I myself have never been a big believer in that, that image is better than reality. Neither was my brother. Thanks for acknowledging the post about him.
September 12, 2009 at 8:37 AM
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