Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.10.2013, Page 72

Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.10.2013, Page 72
18 You might know the name Andri Snær Magnason from any one of the literary or film works he has produced over the last 15 years. If you don’t, we suggest it’s time you do. Andri’s work has things to say—honest, challeng- ing and beautiful things. The 2010 film documentary ‘Dreamland,’ based on his book of the same title, gracefully yet unf linchingly tackles issues of culture, environment and industry in Iceland, and has been called one of the country’s most im- portant films… ever. We caught up with the author and conspirator of novels, poetry, plays and children’s stories to learn more about his up- coming Airwords event, which brings together writers and musicians in a live setting, articulating yet another side of the amazing exchange hap- pening at the Iceland Airwaves Fes- tival this year. What is the mission behind Airwords? The mission is of course to spread the word! The idea is to bring literary talents to the Airwaves scene. Writ- ers and musicians in Iceland have always had a close relationship. Sjón [Icelandic poet] is one of Björk’s clos- est collaborators and I have worked with Valgeir Sigur!sson, múm and Eivor Pálsdóttir. We wanted to join the party and perhaps bring a new di- mension to the festival. How did the Airwords night come about? I had planned a launch party for my book ‘LoveStar’ in New York on Monday, October 29 last year, the ex- act moment Hurricane Sandy hit. I found the last rental car in New York and just barely escaped Manhattan, kind of like Kurt Russell. On the way I wondered why I was putting myself through all that danger when I could be back home in Iceland with thou- sands of highly literate music lovers in town for Airwaves. That crowd should be considered a beached whale for us writers [‘Hvalreki’ in Icelandic, a sign of good fortune]. I had recently taken part in a nice evening in the Ed- inburgh International Book Festival where Elín Ey was also playing. It was a very nice event so I talked to Grímur [Iceland Airwaves Director] about this idea and he took us in, adding some more music—actually some excellent musicians—and here we are. Who can we expect to see? We have Sjón, Au!ur Ava Ólafsdót- tir and Kristín Ómarsdóttir from Iceland. They have all recently been published in English and other lan- guages and have been getting great reviews. We have Robert Forster, a legendary musician from Australia, Ryan Boudinot, a brilliant writer from Seattle, and musicians Elín Ey and Lay Low from Iceland and Em- press Of from the US. I will also read. What does Airwaves mean to you person- ally? I think Airwaves is a very ideal fes- tival. It's at the end of October when you should be starting to feel down because of the growing darkness, be- fore the snow has arrived. According to the Danish poet Henrik Norbrandt, there are 16 months in the year: “No- vember, December, January, Febru- ary, March, April, May, June, July, Au- gust, September, October, November, November, November, November.” Airwaves takes you through all five Novembers and suddenly it's Christ- mas and the darkest days are gone! What do you have coming out next? I have a new book coming out in the beginning of November. It is a story about a magic box that people can crawl into to make unimportant and boring time disappear. You can skip Mondays and Novembers and Feb- ruaries, rainy days and boring win- ters—all those days just pass in an instant. If an economist predicts a very bad year, you can decide to skip that year and the next because things never look better. One day, some chil- dren escape from their boxes, they roam a city in ruins and find an old lady in a house. She tells them a story about a king who conquered the world and decided to defeat time itself. —Words by Burke Jam Where: Harpa, Kaldalón Hall When: Thursday, October 31 Website: www.andrimagnason.com POETRY OFF-VENUE: Andri Snær is also organizing an off-venue poetry event alongside Valger!ur "óroddsdóttir featuring young local writers associated with the grassroots poetry collective Me!gönguljó! alongside heavy-hitters Ryan Boudinot and Andri Snær himself. Air is in the words: poetry and music jam session will be held at Vínbarinn on Airwaves Saturday, November 2 from 12-14 and will feature musical accompaniment by Daníel Bjarnason and Samaris, among others. THURSDAY ISSUE 16 — 2013GRAPEVINE AIRWAVES

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