Lögberg-Heimskringla - 25.04.1980, Blaðsíða 1

94. ARGANGUR Winnipeg, föstudagur 25. apríl, 1980____________________________________________NXJMER 15
THE ICELANDIC NATIONAL LEAGUE
CONVENTION
The 61 st Annual Con-
vention of the Icelandic
National League of North
America opened this
morning at the Parish Hall,
The First Lutheran Church
at Victor and Sargent in
Winnipeg. The president of
the League is Johann S.
Sigurdson.
The Icelandic National
League, with central
organization in Winnipeg
and Chapters in the larger
Icelandic communities in
Canada and the United
States was established in
1919. Its founding principles
were quite similar to those
of the Icelandic Society
jonann s. öiguroson,
presídent of the Icelandic
National League.
formed in Milwaukee in
1874. The principal ob-
jectives of the League have
been those of maintaining
active interest in the
Icelandic heritage in North
America and of preserving
our ties with Iceland.
For half a century the
League published its annual
journal called Timarit Th-
jodraeknisfelags Islendinga 1
Vesturheimi. This journal
contained not only detailed
reports on the Leagues
activities and ac-
1200 MANITOBANS SALUTE
W.D. VALGARDSON
Author Bill Valgardson
On the evening of April
15, The ' University of
Winnipeg Alumni
Association and the
Manitoba Department of
Education staged a premiere
showing of two films based
on the works and the life of
W. D. Valgardson.
All the University theatres
were filled to capacity with
altogether 1200 people in
attendance.
The consensus of opinion
was that author, director
and cast had done a truly
splendid job.
The two sponsors of the
showing deserve much
praise for thorough
promotional work and for
creating an occasion on
which the University of
Winnipeg could honour a
famous alumnus and give his
fellow Manitobans and New
Icelanders an opportunity of
saluting him.
At a reception held in the
University Auditorium after
the showing, Mayor of
Gimli, Ted Arnason, ad-
dressed Valgardson and
presented him with a
commemorative plaque from
the people of his town.
It is no exaggeration to
say that the salute to
Valgardson signified one of
the most important
milestones in the history of
Icelandic Canadian
literature in this century.
The festival program
contained among other
complishments but also
some of the most significant
writings in Icelandic by
North American-Icelandic
authors and scholars.
The first executive
committee of the League
consisted of President,
Reverend ROgnvaldur
Petursson: Vice-President,
Jon Bildfell: Secretary, Dr.
Sigurdur Jul. Johannesson, '
and Treasurer Asmundur P.
Johannsson.
Of a number of League
officers who served for a
number of decades were Dr.
Richard Beck former
president and Grettir
Johannsson former Counsul
General of Iceland, who
things the following in-
formation.
William Dempsey
Valgardson ,is the author of
three collections of short
storics: BLOODFLOWERS
(1973], God is NOT A FISH
INSPECTOR (1975] and Red
Dust (1978], and one novel,
GENTLE SINNERS (1980) —
all published by Oberon
Press — and a volume of
poems, IN THE GUTTING
SHED (1976), published by
Turnstone Press. For many
years his stories, poems and
articles have appeared
regularly in periodicals in
Canada and the United
States, ranging from
learned journals ■ and
magazines to mass-
circulation giants. His
stories have won prizes,
been anthologized, and been
broadcast on CBC radio and
television.
Bill Valgardson has
worked honestly and
strenuously to give to the
truth of his imaginafive
experience a form that
would convey its force and
flavour distinctively and
unforgettably to an unusual
variety of readers. As a
teacher in Ganada and the
United States he has
devoted many years to
helping other potential
writers to do the same. A
graduate of United College
and the University of
Manitoba, with a graduate
degree frohi Iowa State, he
is Director of the Freshman
Program in Department of
Creative Writing at the
University of Victoria.
GOD IS NOT A FISH
held the oífice of treasurer
longer than anyone else.
Indeed he has been strongly
associated with the ad-
ministration of the League
from its very beginnings to
this day.
Until a few years ago, all
the meetings of the Icelandic
National League were
conducted in Icelandic.
Bearing in mind that several
of the convention’s
delegates were finding it
increasingly difficult to
understand Icelandic, the
executive committep
eventually decided to
conduct all its meetings in
English. For the last decade,
members of the League
executive have taken it upon
themselves to organize tours
to Iceland. Not only have
these tours been quite
popular, but they have also
been singularly effective in
bringing the North
American Icelanders closer
to their land of origin.
As stated above, the
Icelandic National League is
a central administrative
body for a number of clubs
and societies. It is therefore
the logical representative of
a great number of people, a
fact recognized by the
Government of Iceland on a
number of important oc-
casions.
INSPECTOR is a film
adaptation of the title story
of Valgardson’s second
collection.
WAITING FOR MORNING
takes us behind the scenes
of Valgardson’s fiction and
discusses the relationship
between his fictional land-
scape (polluted, as has been
said, by fugitives, heroes,
scoundrels, victims, and
romantics) and the author’s
Manitoba background. Here
the saints and scholars of
Gimli debate the existence of
Fusi Bergman, the hero of
God is Not a Fish Inspector.
The two films will be
shown on television-CBC in
Manitoba on April 28th at
10:00 a.m.
Sumardagurinn
fyrsti var í gaer,
fimmfudaginn
24. apríl.
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SIGFÚS HALLDÓRSSON,
GUÐMUNDUR GUÐJóNSSON
AND BILL HOLM IN WINNIPEG
Visitors Sigfus Halidorsson, Gudmundur
Gudjonsson and Bill Holm wúl perform in
the Parish Hall, First Lutheran Church
tonight at 8 o’clock. Admission is $3.00.
Hopefully, a number of people will at-
tend the concert.
The performers have already received
highly complementary' reviews on their
American tour. A good example of this is
Valdimars Bjornson’s newsletter published
in this issue.
On Sunday evening at 7:00, the visitors
will participate in a church service at the
First Lutheran Church in Winnipeg.
Sigfus Halldorsson is without question
one of Iceland’s most popular composers.
Every Icelander, for example, has known
and sung, on most possible and impossible
occasions, his LITTLE FLY, from the time
he first presented it almost 30 years ago.
THE LITTLE FLY now pays its first formal
visit to Winnipeg.