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
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dett í, ofan á, úr, út

I´m not sure if someone had dett í (gotten drunk), or if það bara dett ofan á (it just sort of happened), or if some dett úr (forgot), but at any rate, my household goods dett út (have disappeared). Let's review the chronology here. Early August packers from the shipping company arrive at the apartment in Moraga. They load my 4 large plastic containers and 8 cardboard boxes, plus one baby crib, into their truck. I watch my things depart. In September, I ask the friendly girl (Magie is her name) if she happens to know when I might expect my stuff. Late September she tells me. I am most impressed. Extremely so. Mid October rolls around, and I have not gotten a call. And it occurs to me that I am going to be traveling through November. Hmm. So I call again. Well, yes, she tells me, looks like your shipment should arrive on the 31st of October. Now here I admit that maybe I was a little lacks. I had a lot to do before my trip, and so when they did not call me, I did not follow ...
Read more

Cultural tourism in Iceland

I just finished writing a chapter of my dissertation, which resulted in a much larger discussion of cultural tourism in Iceland than I had intended. But the fact is, this is an issue I have been extremely interested and concerned about for at least 15 years, if not 20. I have never, ever liked the way Iceland is marketed to tourists in the U.S. Everything from the unspoiled nature to the crazy city life in Reykavik. It has always left the part of Iceland I loved--the simple joy of being in a relaxing and lovely place with my family--completely out of the picture. In 2001, I went to Hvollsvöllur to examine the Saga Centre as part of a study commissioned by the National Park's service to look into cultural landscapes as heritage tourism. I thought that endeavor might represent a change in how Iceland was presented to tourists. But in the last 10 years, and especially while working at Vikingaheimar, and at meetings with the Saga Trails Association, I came to see just how completel...
Read more

On Icelandic doctors

My friends and family here in Iceland were very enthusiastic about me going to the krabbameinsfélag for an exam. I was really impressed how easy it was to get an appointment--booked online even! And when I got there this afternoon, the efficiency continued: they have a well oiled operation in place there, all very organized with computers asking questions and keyed lockers to keep one's personal belongings in. Then when it came time to see the doctor, well, that lasted all of 2 minutes. And I paid 3420 kroner. So I was overall a little disappointed. When I mentioned to the front desk clerks that I was wondering if it was possible to actually get an appointment where I could speak to a doctor, I was given a variety of phone numbers. None of the ones I called had appointments within the next 6 weeks. In the United States, when I want a doctor's appointment, I can usually get it within a week of calling, though sometimes I have had to wait 10 days or so. The highest co-pay I hav...
Read more