Lögberg-Heimskringla - 25.11.1994, Blaðsíða 4

4 » Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 25. nóvember 1994
The tradition goes on... cont d.
And no mention of
Western Icelandic writers
would be complete without a
mention of David Arnason.
Mr. Arnason’s fiction and
poetry has won for him a
well-deserved reputation as
one of our flnest writers, not
only in the Icelandic commu-
nity but in the community at
large. He is a flne stylist with
a wonderful sense of humor
that he often uses to make
some very serious points.
That sense of impishness
is given full rein in one of the
two new books that he has
out this fall, The Dragon
and the Dry Goods Prin-
cess: Fractured Fairy Tales
(Turnstone, Winnipeg.) Billed
as new fairy tales for adults
and children, it is perhaps
not specifically a children’s
book, although older chlldren
will have no problem with Mr.
Arnason’s wit and off-beat
approach. The stories are
retelling of old faiiy tales and
how drastically they are
retold can perhaps be judged
by some of the titles: The
Hoag Brothers and Their
Adventures in Real Estate;
The Hardware Dealer’s
Daughter and The Evil
Stepchildren, to name only a
few. This books is a lot of fun,
an increasingly rare phenom-
enon these days.
Mr. Arnason’s second
offering this fall is actually a
revision and reissue, in col-
laboration with Vincent
Arnason, of a book he edited
several years ago, The New
Icelanders (Turnstone, Win-
nipeg). This beautifully pro-
duced book, of all the books
mentioned here, probably
makes the best possible
Christmas book for a Western
Icelander or anyone interested
in their history and culture.
The illustrations alone are
worth the price but when one
adds in writing by David
Arnason, W.D. Valgardson,
Kristjana Gunnars, Jóhann
Briem, to name only a few of
the contributors, one has a
book to be treasured. It is not
so much a history as an
eclectic insight into the
Icelandic community and as
such it is a work of enduring
value.
Another worth considering
although it’s not specifically
Icelandic in content — except
for that apprioximately 50 per
cent of us are men — is Betty
Jane Wylie’s Men: Quota-
tions about Men by Women
(Key Porter, Toronto). This is a
collection of quotations —
some flattering, most of them
not so complimentary but all
of them interesting or amus-
ing. It is a great book for
browsing, and it is hard to
decide whether it’s more likely
to be enjoyed by men, who get
a glimpse of themselves from
the feminine perspective, or
women, who can flnd some-
thing to conflrm any of their
suspicions. Ms. Wylie one of
the more prolific Icelandic
Canadian writers whose
name will be familiar to regu-
lar readers of L-H, has a long-
term winner here.
Another name that will be
familiar to L-H readers is the
Icelandic-Minnesota writer Bill
Holm. One of his recent books
is Landscape of Ghosts, a cof-
fee-table book that is a kind of
meditation on junk and detri-
tus of society, lavishly illustrat-
ed with photographs by Bob
Firth, It is an exceptional
attractive and well-written
book which carries an excep-
tional price tag — $38.95 (Can)
— but quality of this calibre
doesn’t come cheap.
Best Jólasyeínur drawín^, Co»iu
obedient to avoid their tricks.
Grýla herself is also ever ready
with a bag on her back to steal
the naughty children and take
them back to her cave. All
good parents ask their chil-
dren to be very good and help-
ful around the Christmas
Season so that Grýla and her
boys will not get them.
Each jólasveinn has his
own unique attribute: Stekk-
jastaur (Stiff-legs) comes first.
He steals milk from the sheep.
Giljagaur (Gorge Oaf) who
waits in the byre (cow shed)
until the milkmaid’s attention
is elsewhere then he steals the
creamy froth from the milk in
the pails. Stúfur (Shorty)
sneaks in the kitchen and tries
to get the scraps of food that
are left in the pans after cook-
ing. Þvörusleikir (Spoonlicker)
tries to get the spoons and
licks them. Pottaskefill (Pot-
licker) took leftovers from the
pots. Askasleikir (Bowl-licker)
tried to get the “askar” (special
wooden plates) and steal food
from them. Hurðaskellir
(Door-slammer) he slams
doors and wakes people up at
night. Skyrjarmur (Skyr-glut-
ton) tries to steal from the skyr
containers. Bjúgnakrækir
(Sausage-stealer) tries to get
the smoked sausages which
are being saved for Christmas.
Gluggagægir (Window-peeper)
peeps in through windows.
Gáttaþefur (Door-sniffer)
sniffs at the doors. Kjötkrókur
(Meat-stealer) comes on Dec.
23 when the hangikjöt was
cooked and tried to steal
hangikjöt. The last one is
Kertasníkir (Candle-beggar)
who comes on Christmas Eve
and tries to steal the children’s
candles.
Over the years these lads
have changed and taken on
some of the characteristics of
Santa Claus. Nowadays they
visit children’s Christmas par-
ties and walk with them
around the tree. They usually
tell the children their name
(which one of the thirteen) as
well as their travel story from
the mountains and what hap-
pened on the farms where they
stopped on the way and how
afraid the people were of
them. Then they sing and walk
around the Christmas tree
with the children and give
them candy at the end of the
party. They are now dressed
like Santa Claus in red with
white fur trim, but used to be
dressed in Icelandic home-
spun pants, knitted sweaters
and hats. Now, they also put
small toys or candy in chil-
dren’s shoes if hey are left on
the window-sill. However if
the children have been
naughty, they get a rotten
potato instead.
rave
mto
n n
THOR
by W.D.
Valgardson
lllustrated by
Ange Zhang
$14.95
laminated paper
over boards
PUBLISHER
GROUNDWOOD BOOKS
^ Write to: 585 Bloor Street Wv Toronto, Ontario M6G 1 K5 Jj)
Traveling
On into the
Light
by Martha
Brooks
$16.95
cloth cover