Lögberg-Heimskringla - 25.11.1994, Side 3

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 25. nóvember 1994 • 3
The tradition goes on... our literary legacy
By Tom Oleson
As W.D. Valgardson points out
on the front page of this edi-
tion of Lögberg-Helmskringla,
Icelanders and literature are as
closely bound together as muscle
and bone. It is as old as Iceland
itself and survived the transplant of
the Icelanders to the new world. I am
not sure if this is a tome of unusual
abundance in books by or about
Icelanders, but there does appear to
be a remarkable crop. In this week’s
paper we are privileged to present
you with an an introduction to a
number of books by Western
Icelanders, including works by four
of our best writers, W.D. Valgardson,
David Arnason, Martha Brooks,
Betty Jane Wylie and Peter Eyvind-
son as well as other authors.
The crop includes an unusual
number of children’s stories. W.D.
Valgardson offers us Thor (Ground-
wood Press, Toronto) which tells of
the adventures of a young boy who
goes winterfishing on Lake Winnipeg
with his afl for the flrst time. It is an
exciting tale, attractively illustrated
by Ange Zhang, which not only tells a
good story but gets a surprising
amount of fascinating information
about the culture in the Interlake for
such a short tale and Mr. Valgardson
is able to get it across without it ever
interfering in the narrative.
Thor represents both a departure
and a homecoming for Mr.
Valgardson, as he acknowledged in a
recent interview. It is a departure in
that it is his flrst book for children —
two more are in the works — and a
homecoming in that he returns to his
Icelandic roots for the tale. His earli-
er short stories. and novels were
heavily influenced by his experiences
in the Interlake. Even when they
were not identifiably Icelandic, their
tone and mood left little doubt from
whence their creator had sprung.
His most recent novel for adults,
however, The Girl with the
Botticelli Face, was as he himself;
describes it, a West Coast novel and
radically different from much of his
previous flction. It is good to see him
return to his roots and to do it so
splendidly.
An appropriate companion volume
to Thor as a Christmas gift set
might be Thora’s Island Home (Eyja
Publishing, White Rock, B.C.) by
Sylvia Sigurdson, with illustrations
by Roman Swiderek, which tells the
story of A 12-year girl who comes
from Iceland to flnd a new home on
Hecla Island.
An author better known for chil-
dren’s books is Peter Eyvindson, who
has produced about a dozen, includ-
ing Kale’s Bath, which has become
something of a Canadian classic. He
has two books out at the moment,
both of which are up to his high
standards. One fs The Night
Rebecca Stayed Too Late
(Pemmican, Winnipeg). When Susie
walks Rebecca home because she is
afraid of the dark, the problem then
arises of how Susie is to get home
herself. It is an entertaining and
thoughtfíil tale and like most of Mr.
Eyvindson’s books that are published
by Pemmican, a native publishing
house, is illustrated by Rhian
Brynjólfson. The illustrations are
excellent and keeping with
Pemmican’s policy, are clearly of
native children. The intent is to give
young natives characters that they
can identiíy with and so draw them
more easily into reading, but the
story itself is cross-cultural in its
appeal.
Mr. Eyvindson’s other book is
quite essentially Icelandic. The
Backward Brothers See The Light
(Red Deer Press, Red Deer, Alta.) is
drawn from Icelandic folklore and
tells the story of three bothers, Gisli,
Erikur and Helgi, “who seemed to
have only one brain between them
for they often acted in a strange and
backward manner." In this tale they
decide to build a house with no wln-
dows with devastating results. This is
a very funny story that will especially
be appreciated by anyone of Icelandic
descent.
Watch for a new and complete,
previously unpublished, Backwards
Brothers story in our special
Christmas edition of Lögberg-
Heimskringla. It has us here at L-H
laughing out loud and we think you
MESSUBOÐ
Fyrsta Lúterska
Kirkja
Pastor Ingthor I. Isfeld
1030 a.m. The Service followed by
Sunday School & Coffee hour.
First Lutheran Church
580 Victor St., Winnipeg, MB
R3G 1R2 Ph. 772-7444
Minnist
í ERFÐASKRÁM YÐAR
and your children or grandchildren
will have the same reaction.
No mention of children’s books
with a connection would be com-
plete, of course, without a mention of
The Stories of the Gimli Hulda-
fóUc, by Kathy Hurlburt with illustra-
tions by Jerry Johnson. This is not a
brand new book, but it has enjoyed
continuing success and remains a
popular seller, particularly around
Christmas and íslendingadagurinn.
It has even spawned its own line of
merchandise with Huldufólk T-shirts
a common site at the Icelandic
Festival. It concerns the pranks and
misadventures of two Huldafólk
transplanted from Iceland to Gimli
and would be a welcome arrival
under the tree for any child — or for
that matter most adults interested in
their Icelandic heritage.
For slightly older readers, Martha
Brooks has a new collection of stories
out entitled Travelling On Into the
Light (Groundstone, Toronto) which
helps to enhance that writer’s
already considerable reputation in
this field. The stories are modern,
compassionate and demonstrate a
nicely diy sense of humour that will
appeal especially to teenagers.
Cont’d on page 4
A tale of two lovable
Huldufolkfrom Gimli.
Illustrated in beauti-
fulcolour.
IZ’SP
Incl.Postage&Tax
Saga Publishing Co.
Gimli MB.Box 1499
R0CIB0
Framfarí Specíal
for Chríslmas
The Icelandic Dictionary defínes ‘framfari’ as progress. The Gimli
Chapter, I.N.L., defines Framfari as ‘blood, sweat and tears’.
Therein lies a story which, in the new year, we will tell you in its
entirety.
In actual fact, Framfari is a hard cover book, brown in colour with gilt
lettering. A matching end cover is available for those of discriminating
taste. Numbering 748 pages, it is an English translation of the 76 issues of
the newspaper, Framfarí, published at Lundi (now Riverton) and dating
from 1877 to 1880. Detailed are happenings in the Icelandic colony at that
time, news from Iceland and the rest of the world, religious controversies,
advertising, riddles, recipes. The real good news for you is that now, in
time for Christmas giving, is our NEW, special low price. Prepaid per vol-
ume is $15.00, plus $5.00 mailing within Canada, $10.00 outside of
Canada. End cover is $4.50.
Gimli Chapter, I.N.L.,
P.O. Box 1979,
Gimli, Manitoba
R0C 1B0