Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.05.2014, Blaðsíða 32

Silent No More
Bloodhoof by Gerður Kristný
Translated by Rory McTurk
32The Reykjavík Grapevine
“I feel as though I have been writ-
ing ‘Bloodhoof’ since I was a child,”
Gerður has stated, explaining that as
a girl she was fascinated by Norse
mythology. In fact, the first verse that
she ever composed was about Odin,
the ruler of the Æsir gods. In ‘Blood-
hoof,’ she turns her attention to a
well-known mythological episode
in which the servant Skírnir travels
across worlds to fetch a beautiful
Jötunn maiden (also named Gerður)
and bring her to the god Freyr, who
has fallen in love with her from afar.
‘Bloodhoof’s’ long-form retell-
ing draws its inspiration from the
‘Skírnismál,’ (‘The Lay of Skírnir’).
“This story has always been consid-
ered a romantic and beautiful story,”
she explained. “But actually it is full
of violence.” Indeed, Gerður's spare
retelling leaves no room for idyllic in-
terpretations—no glossing over of the
fact that in the ‘Skírnismál,’ the maid-
en woman only agrees to go to Freyr
under great duress—only, in fact, af-
ter he has threatened to kill her kins-
men and place a curse on her: “Over
my head / the sword sang a song /
the song of a maiden / who struggles
/ and dies / her neck decked with a
slash.”
The poem’s deliberate pacing and
stark imagery is emphasised by its
layout: there is no more than a stanza
on each page, sometimes no more
than a few lines. Given the rhythmic
alliteration of the poem in its original
Icelandic (which often reflects the
ljóðaháttur, or chant metre, of the
‘Skírnismál’), it is also particularly
nice to see both the Icelandic and
English text on the same page, as
even readers who do not understand
Icelandic will be able to get a feel for
the sound of the original as they read
along.
As translator Rory McTurk points
out in his useful contextual intro-
duction, “Bloodhoof” finally allows
Gerður her own voice—the poem is
told entirely from her perspective—
where in ‘Skírnismál,’ she only speaks
eight stanzas of 42. Additionally, both
Eddic versions of Gerður’s story end
with her promise to come to Freyr in
nine night’s time, but neither actu-
ally relate the pair’s meeting. ‘Blood-
hoof,’ on the other hand, uses this
first meeting as a jumping-off point,
as merely the start of Gerður’s night-
mare of abuse:
He wrapped
my hair
around his hand
and led me
away
…
Freyr’s paws
pawed me
reducing me
to terror
scored
a new scar
on my skin each night
These passages of violence in
‘Bloodhoof’ resonate particularly for
being wholly unvarnished and direct.
It is also important to note that this is
not the first time that Gerður Kristný
has written about these mythological
figures. In fact, her first poetry col-
lection includes a poem entitled “Til
Skírnis” (‘To Skírnir’). Also narrated
by Gerður, “Til Skírnis” ends with aw-
ful finality, on the lines “Dauðan lít ég
svip minn / í sverði þínu,” (literally:
“Dead I see my face / in your sword”).
This line is quoted almost verba-
tim in ‘Bloodhoof’: “Dauðan leit ég /
svip minn / í sverði drengsins,” which
Rory has rendered as “I saw my face,
/ dead, reflected / in the envoy’s
sword.” But in this echo, the line ap-
pears only half way through the book.
And while great suffering follows the
statement, so does great strength
and resurrection:
Yet the body
holds
its own
The body
holds
firm

The body
holds
…
with a foot stuck fast
under a chair
a hand
in the far corner
fingers all over the floor
I gathered myself
into one piece
aligned my eyebrows
set my jaw
tucked in my liver and lungs
pressed my heart
into service
Until eventually, Gerður rises to meet
her oppressor: “In the doorway / I
met Freyr / He saw his face, / dead,
reflected / in my eye.” Still await-
ing the vengeance of her kinsmen,
Gerður has nevertheless freed her-
self in spirit, if not yet in body.
Words by
Larissa Kyzer
Gerður Krístný is an immensely prolific writer, having produced some 18 books—including
poetry and short story collections, novels for adults and children, a biography and a travel
narrative—since her first publication in 1994. However, she is as of yet relatively unknown
to English-reading audiences. For although several international collections have antholo-
gised her poems and short stories, it was not until Gerður won the Icelandic Literature Prize
in 2010 that one of her works, the winning poetry book ‘Bloodhoof,’ was translated into
English in its entirety.
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Cover for
Bloodhoof