Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2018, Síða 2

Noemi Ehrat is a
student of English
and political science
hailing from the
Swiss city of Zurich.
She came to Iceland
first through her
love of the majestic
Icelandic horse and
could somehow not
stop coming back
ever since. Reading,
writing and hating
make her happy, too..
Elín Elísabet is an illus-
trator and cartoonist
born and raised in
Borgarnes. At the
tender age of 15, Elín
moved to Reykjavík
and hasn’t looked
back, except for the
annual springtime
impulse to move
someplace quiet
and keep chickens.
Elín likes folk music,
stationery, seal vid-
eos, the country of
Ireland, and eggs.
John Rogers an
Englishman who first
joined us as a music
writer, later graduat-
ing to Managing
Editor. A constant
traveller, a lover of
art, culture, food and
nightlife, he edits
our Best of Reykjavík,
Best of Iceland and
Iceland Airwaves
sister publications.
His first book, “Real
Life,” was published
in 2014.
Hannah Jane is
based out of Iceland
by way of NYC. An
alumnus of Columbia
University, Hannah
has lived on five con-
tinents and speaks
three languages
fluently, which is
very impressive. Her
visionary work is
known for expand-
ing the definitions of
emotion, introspec-
tion, and above all
else, taste.
Juliana Iluminata Wil-
czynski is a Brazilian-
American university
student. Her love of
the Icelandic lan-
guage led her to
Iceland for the first
time in 2016. Some-
how at age 21, she
kinda sorta lives in
five countries at the
same time. She loves
obscure linguistics
facts, samba, and a
good bloody mary.
Sveinbjörn Pálsson
is our Art Director.
He's responsible for
the design of the
magazine and the
cover photography.
When he's not work-
ing here, he DJs as
Terrordisco, hosts
the Funkþátturinn
radio show, or sits
at a table in a Rey-
kjavik café, drinking
copious amounts of
coffee and thinking
about fonts.
Christine Engel
Snitkjær has a
diverse interna-
tional background
in studies ranging
from Literature to
Character Animation.
An avid traveler and
cosmopolitan, Chris-
tine uses her experi-
ences as sources of
inspiration for telling
stories. Her passport
says Denmark and
she loves rabbits.
Paul Fontaine
Originally from
Baltimore, Paul has
lived in Iceland since
1999. He was also
the first foreign-
born member of the
Icelandic Parliament,
an experience he
highly recommends
for anyone who
wants to experience
a workplace where
colleagues work tire-
lessly to undermine
each other.
Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdót-
tir is a national treas-
ure. One of Iceland's
leading illustrators,
when she's not
drawing she's the
front-woman of
Icelandic electro-
pop supergroup FM
Belfast. Her comic
strip Lóabratorium
appears every issue
on page eight, and
is also available as
a daily dose on her
Twitter.
First 18: Midwifes16: Rabbi In Iceland14: Messed Up Festivals10: Still Smiteing 28: LungA 31: Melkorka Þorkels 38: Kælan Mikla40: Harbinger 44: Árni Vilhjálms 50: Wilderness Centre 52: Sterns in Grímsey 56: Lady Brewery
ON THE COVER:
Drynjandi Waterfall
COVER PHOTO:
Art Bicnick
ABOUT THE PICTURE:
Art went to the
highlands around
Strandir and slept in a
tent to take this picture
of Drynjandi waterfall,
which will disappear if
the dam is built.
FROM THE EDITOR
The complexity
of surviving
It probably doesn’t
matter what coun-
try you live in, you
can probably feel
the fast-growing
gap between the
countryside and
the cities. We saw
this in the presidential elections in the
US in 2016, where Donald Trump’s core
strength was in the rural parts of the
country. And this was evident in the
Brexit vote the same year, where there
was a huge difference between how the
cityfolk voted and how those that live
in the smaller towns and regions did.
There is a profound difference between
these two groups, as well as contrasting
ideas of where we want to go as a society.

In Iceland, we can now see this frustra-
tion manifest in a tiny village in the
northwest, which you can read about
in our feature on page 23. Árneshrep-
pur’s53 residents are debating if they
should build a dam in the highlands and
therefore flood some beautiful land for
electricity production. This is not a deci-
sion that the people take lightly.
This is not even a question about
electricity in some ways. For them, this
is a question of surviving in a rural and
borderline inhabitable place in Iceland.

It’s perhaps fair to say that the people
of Strandir have not been heard by the
government. And they are in some ways,
not asking for much. The roads are
impassable from January to mid-March,
and the infrastructure is barely there.
Still the government doesn’t provide
them service like in other towns, where
most streets are open year-round, no
matter how hectic the weather—and
believe me, it does get hectic sometimes.
The residents of these isolated regions
also have to fight frequent blackouts.

I don’t have a solution here. But I have
a feeling that the government somehow
failed this area, and now we are facing
the consequences. And, what’s worse,
we are literally losing a part of Iceland
in the progress. This narrative is almost
poetic.
In my opinion, we should not build
power plants except where we abso-
lutely need to. And there has to be a
wide agreement about it beforehand. On
the other hand, I can’t fault the people
of Árneshreppur, because their only aim
is to thrive as a society. I just hope that
they don’t get fooled by empty prom-
ises.
Valur Grettisson
karaoke
h
a
p
p
y
h
o
u
r
ea
t
d
r
in
k
www.odd on.i
you pin me right round
baby right round