Lögberg-Heimskringla - 10.09.2004, Side 12

12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 10 September 2004
Stephansson’s philosophy
speaks to modern audience
The Wakeful Poet (And-
vökuskáldið): The Biogra-
phy ofStephan G.
Stephansson, Volume 2
by Viðar Hreinsson
Published by Bjartur, Reyk-
javík, Iceland
reviewed hy
Borga Jakobson
WlNNIPEG, MB
In 1997, Viðar Hreinsson
set out to write the biography
of Stephan G. Stephansson.
His aim was to provide a com-
prehensive picture of Stephan,
the man. In Volume 1 of the
biography (reviewed in Lög-
herg-Heimskringla, November
14, 2003) he tells the story of
Stephan’s early life in Iceland
and the U.S. In this, the second
volume of Stephan’s biogra-
phy, Viðar traces the poet’s life
from 1889 until his death in
1927.
By this time, Stephan is
making a new beginning. He
has found his own philosophy.
Then, suddenly, the thought
comes upon him... “I have no
fatherland.” He sees himself as
a citizen of the world.
Stephan is aware of the
growing competition for world
power among European
nations. He sees that two armed
camps are forming. He senses
the mounting tensions. To a cit-
izen of the world the Great War
is madness. No one should vol-
unteer to take part in such a
fiasco. Soldiers are not heroes.
They are victims of a great
tragedy. Amid war-fever and
propaganda Stephan’s position
does not waver. He fmds him-
self at the centre of a huge con-
troversy. Critics attack him at
every tum.
Viðar identifies with
Stephan. He is overwhelmed by
Stephan’s tumultuous reception
in Iceland in 1917. He is hurt
by the scathing criticism that
Stephan endures at home in
Canada.
When the war is finally
over Stephan seems to see into
the future. Wars fought with
machines bring “blind destruc-
tion.” The manufacture of arms
will create a competition for
markets. Nuclear power has not
been thought of, but Stephan
worries... Will the human race
destroy itself?
Several chapters are devot-
ed to a discussion of Stephan’s
opponents. Perhaps too much
attention is given to individual
critics. Stephan himself for-
gives his critics because, he
says, they “brought him for-
ward in his thinking.”
Viðar tells us about
Stephan’s illness and about his

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death, closing the book.
Andvökuskáldið was pub-
lished on October 3, 2003, 150
years to the day after the poet’s
birth. For the time being,
Viðar’s story is finished. In the
end we realize that it is up to us
to go back through the pages to
pick out the pieces that will
help each of us to form our own
picture of Stephan.
In an interview with
Morgunblaðið, Viðar said,
“Stephan’s poetry is still valid
today and has an urgent mes-
sage for us.” Even though
Stephan’s words were not well-
received at the time of writing,
he hoped that they would win
their place in the future. Viðar’s
scholarship and his poetic
insight make him an excellent
guide to Stephan’s work. We
hope to hear more from him.
PHOTO: DAVID JÓN FULLER
Memoirs in demand
OIi Pjetur Josephson, 81, of Winnipeg, Manitoba recent-
ly printed his memoirs. “My grandchildren bugged me to
do it,” he says, noting that he has had to reprint the book
twice. The Provincial Archives of Manitoba has request-
ed a copy, and Oli’s cousin Bjarki Elíasson, former Chief
of Police in Reykjavík, is undertaking to have the book
translated into Icelandic.
Vatnsdal explores blood and
guts of Canuck horror fllms
984 Portage Avenue at Aubrey Street
www.nbardal.mb.ca
They Came From Within: A
History of Canadian Hor-
ror Cinema
by Caelum Vatnsdal
Arbeiter Ring Publishing, 256
pages, $28.95 CAD /
$25.95 US
reviewed by
Perry Grosshans
WlNNIPEG, MB
Caelum Vatnsdal takes
readers on a long shuffle
through the backwoods of
Canadian horror cinema, but
keeps them on their toes with
plenty of guts, insight and
humour.
The purpose of Vatnsdal’s
latest book, They Came From
Within, is twofold: “to bring to
light the curious phenomenon
and colourful history of the
Canadian horror movie, and to
explore any distinctive national
qualities they may or may not
possess.” The book bursts with
enough people, places and films
to make the reader dizzy, but at
the same time hungry to seek out
the old B-movie horror gems.
As Vatnsdal describes it,
the history of Canadian horror
movies is largely one of strug-
gle. Genre films suffered the
worst when it came to funding.
This, coupled with a shaky
sense of national identity and a
tradition of documentary fílm-
making that seemed opposed to
horror in general, made Canada
slow to delve into horror cine-
ma until the 60s.
The late 70s saw a dramat-
ic rise in awful horror exploita-
tion fílms, due in large part to
abuses during the tax shelter
period, which allowed for a
100 per cent write-off on Cana-
dian fílm investments. More
horrible movies followed with
the direct-to-video surge in the
80s, and the 90s mostly pro-
duced a parade of boring
sequels.
Vatnsdal is quick to point
out that among all the bombs
there were still some great
movies: Prom Night, Terror
Train, Shivers, The Fly, and
Ginger Snaps just to name a
few.
Vatnsdal says that although
Canadian horror movies are
mostly unacknowledged and
unappreciated, Canada has
done very well by them. Many
writers, actors, directors and
producers dipped their hands
into this bloody industry early
in their now successful careers.
As a history book, They
Came... is dense with names
and dates, which at times
makes for a dry read. But
Vatnsdal does an excellent job
in breaking up the chronologi-
cal monotony with his humor-
ous writing style, whether it’s
to tell us a movie’s plot or an
amusing anecdote about an
incident which occurred during
fílming.
Vatnsdal’s more difficult
task is to discern whether a
horror fílm is “Canadian” or
not. He himself says this is
tricky and can only really be
decided on a case-by-case
basis.
Throughout the book, it’s
sometimes diffícult to follow
Vatnsdal’s reasons for why cer-
tain films are more “Canadian”
than others. He goes into such
depth and detail about the peo-
ple involved in each film’s cre-
ative origins that it’s easy for
the reader to lose track of
where his original arguments
begin. However, this same
careful detail is what really
makes this book a solid piece
of historical film criticism.
Vatnsdal takes us on a trip
through the macabre that is
Canadian horror cinema, and
leaves no tombstone unearthed.
They Came From Within stands
out as a quality piece of critical
work, and piques the reader’s
interest to further investigate
all those gory Canadian horror
fílms.
For information on the
book launch of They Came
From Within, see the Calendar
ofEvents.
Visit us on the web at http://www.logberg.com