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