Lögberg-Heimskringla - 05.11.1993, Page 1

( Lögberg 1
eimskringla
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnnö 14. janúar 1888
Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 188G
Inside this week:
An introduction to 'technology...................2
Remembrance, Respect, Responsibility.............3
Danes balk at new rescue.........................4
Letters to the editor............................5
Childrea's corner................................7
107. Árgangur
107th Year
Publications Mail Registration No. 1667
Föstudagur 5. nóvember 1993
Friday, 5 November 1993
Númer 38
Number 38
lcelandic
News
Sftting Horse:
■ This horse has been getting a lot
of attention lately in Kópavogur,
lceland. The way the animal rests,
more like a dog than a horse, is
what has caught people's attention.
Usually horses lie down to rest, but
this one has found its unique way.
foreign-born people
living in lceland:
■ Never ín the hístory of the coun-
try have there been SO many people
living in lceland that are born out-
side the country, and enjoying life
there very much. Their stories vary,
of course, but on the whole they
seem to be satisfied with their iot.
What they seem to agree on as a
whole is that lcelanders are a help-
ful lot and would go out of their
way to assist. Another thing they
seem to enjoy is the informal rela-
tionship between management and'
staff, On the negative side they
seem to find lcelanders somewhat
undisciplined and extravagant.
The people shown in the plcture
above are; Hope Knutsson from USA,
£lisabeth Csilla from Hungary and jon
Sui from Vietnam. Of the 10,000 only
207 are refugees from Hungary,
Czechoslovakía, Poland and Vietnam.
Adjustment is easier for Caucasian
people rather than people of colour.
V Bir9'r v
There are a few people,
said Oli Narfason,
who have both a
broad vision and an eye for
detail. The former president
of the Icelandic National
League commented that
these were the people who
not only saw the roses but
stopped to smell them and
to think about what they
meant. They are the people
who can create poetry and
our community, both in
Iceland and North America,
seems to have been blessed
with more than its share of
them.
Oli was speaking at a
tribute to one of North
America’s greatest poets,
Guttormour Guttormsson
that was held in October at
Winnipeg’s Scandinavian
Centre. Put on by the INL,
the event was meant not
only to honor and remem-
ber the poet, but to raise
money for a memorial that
is to be erected in Riverton.
As the current president of
the INL, which is organizing
it, Helgi Austman remarked,.
it is a project that is long
overdue and hopes that peo-
ple of Icelandic descent
from all over North America
will contribute to it. Gutt-
ormur, after all, wrote for all
of us. In fact, he wrote for
posterity and it is ironic that
he may be remembered bet-
ter in Iceland now than he is
the North American
Icelandic Community of
. which he was part.
Magnus Eliason, who has
had a long and distin-
guished career in politics
both as a political activist
and Winnipeg city council-
lor, recalled some childhood
memories of Guttormur.
Then, with the eloquence
we have come to expect
from him, he recited three of
his poems, including Winni-
peg Icelander and Paul
Bjarnason’s translation of
the immortal Sandy Bar.
Magnus also, as is his
wont, spiced up the after-
rioori in a typically Icelandic
way by injecting a note of
controversy. Plans for the
memorial call for it to be
erected in the Riverton town
park. Magnus thinks it
should be built at the site of
Guttormur’s farm where he
lived and wrote. A third
school of thought thinks
that it should be set up at
Sandy Bar itself. In
response, Helgi Austman
explained the reasons for
the INL decision, which are
straightforward.and practi-
cal. The town of Riverton
will maintain the Tnemorial
but at the farm or at Sandy
Bar there is no one who can
commit to looking after it. It
is more poetic, in a sense, to
erect the monument at the
farm or Sandy Bar, but in a
practical sense, it is difficult
to quarrel with the INL’s
decision to build it in
Riverton, where it will be
properly cared for and more
people will see it anyway.
The highlight of the
afternoon was the
beautiful voice of
Heather Ireland, singing the
poems of her grandfather
that have been set to music.
Accompanied by TheJma
Wilson on the piano, she
began with Áróra, by Helgi
Helgason, and continued
with Icelandic Maiden,
Island — a tribute to Iceland
which Guttormur wrote
after a visit there — and
Góða Nótt before bringing
the concert to a climax with
her rendition of Sandy Bar.
She was to be followed
by poet and novelist David
Arnason’s tribute to
Guttormur, but, because
David was unable to attend,
the difficult task of present-
ing somebody else’s talk fell
to Jon Mathiason, an
anthroplogist and author
from the University of
Manitoba, who accom-
plished it with both wit and
grace.
Afterwards the audience
that packed the hall in the
Heather Ireland
Scandinavian Centre was
treated to a buffet of
Icelandic delicacies and
dainties preþared by the
supporters of the project,
which afforded people the
chance to chat, gossip, talk,
discuss or argue, according
to their inclination. Again in
the best Icelandic tradition,
there appeared to be a lot of
each going on.
The size of turnout
underlined the impor-
tance this valuable pro-
ject by the INL. Guttormur
Guttormsson is not just one
of the best Icelandic
Canadian poets. Along with
Stephan G. Stephanson, he
is one of the best poets to
come out of North America
in any language, including
English. An anecdote told by
Heather Ireland, an experi-
ence from a recent trip to
Iceland, highlights the
esteem in which he is still
held there. She took a taxi in
Reykjavík, and when the
driver learned she was
Guttormur’s granddaughter,
he refused to accept any fare.
When she insisted on paying,
he said forcefully: “Look, it’s
my taxi, and I’ll decide who
pays and who doesn’t” and
Guttormur’s granddaughter
was not going to pay any fare
in his cab. The memorial in
Riverton will help to prove
that wé in the West have not
forgotten him either, and
your donations will help to
make it a reality.
T.O.
Bill Holm to speak
ill Holm, one of the Westem Icelandic communi-
ty’s best writers, will give a lecture at the
University of Manitoba on November 19 as part
of the Department of Icelandic’s continuing series of lec-
tures oiganized by Kirsten Wolf and Viöar Hreinsson.
The last two lectures, by Daisy Neijmann and Böðvar
Guðmundsson were fascinating and were serialized in
Lögberg-Heimskringla (Böðvar’s concludes this week)
and L-H hopes to be able to do the same with Bill Holm.
Watch for a feature in our next issue of the paper and,
if you can, attend the lecture. It will be well worth your
tixne and effort.