Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.06.2019, Blaðsíða 42

42The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10— 2019
The Next
Generation
Una Press brings young Icelandic poetry
to the masses
Words: Felix Robertson Photos: Óli Már
Poetry Press
‘Það er alltaf eitthvað’ is widely
available in bookshops across
Iceland. See www.utgafuhus.is for
more info.
In the ever-changing world of Ice-
landic poetry, a new anthology by
Una Útgáfuhús, or Una Press, is
bringing the next generation of
Icelandic poets to the fore. Named
‘Það er alltaf eitthvað’, or ‘There
is always something,’ the anthol-
ogy is a collaborative work writ-
ten by students of creative writ-
ing and—if the talent on show
is anything to go by—it bodes
well for the future of this tenu-
ous but tenacious literary scene.
It’s a small world
Iceland is a famously literary na-
tion. But with
the population
standing at just
under 340,000,
the poetry scene
i n Icela nd i s,
inevitably, per-
i lou sly sma l l .
However, against
all the odds, it
continues to sur-
vive, and even
th rive. Poetr y
is bought and sold, read and re-
cited, and reviewed and criticised
across Iceland. The Icelandic po-
etry scene is no bastion of the old.
The late publisher Meðgönguljóð,
which sold poetry pamphlets
for the price of a coffee, worked
to bring a wide range of young
Icelandic poets to prominence.
However, through the work of
new publishers like Una Press,
Iceland continues to see an emer-
gence of young, dynamic writers.
“It’s the end of one generation,”
says Jóhannes Helgason, one
of the members of Una Press.
“And now they’re letting the
next generation get involved.”
Always something
Compiling the work of
twelve writers, Una Press’
anthology was developed
through an initiative from
the University of Iceland,
where students studying
creative writing joined
w ith those st udy ing
practical editing and
publishing. One of the
most important choic-
es, of course, was the ti-
tle. After much discus-
sion, ‘There is always
something’ was the
eventual choice, taken
from a phrase
spoken often by
the grandmother
of Mikló, one of
the writers. The
phrase testifies
to the mixture
of joy and chal-
lenges we face
in our actions
and deci sion s
throughout life.
Thematic connections

“Thematically, the stories are
quite broad,” says Jóhannes. “But
the idea of strings, or connec-
tions, was a starting point.” The
range of subject matter is, admit-
tedly, dizzying. In one story, a
woman has forty-seven siblings.
In another, there’s a pervert on
a train. But the theme of con-
nections, whether in the form of
family, relationships, or even his-
torical ties, runs deep throughout
the divergent narrative strands.
“In a way, the anthology itself
is a string of shorter works, link-
ing together,” says Stefanía Páls-
dóttir, one of the student writ-
ers. But she also emphasizes the
personal nature of these poems.
“The work is also, of course, about
us. Because when you write, you
use a tiny, tiny bit of yourself.”
Translations?

One of the surest signs of success
in Icelandic poetry is to have your
work translated. At present, ‘Það
er alltaf eitthvað’ is only avail-
able in Ice-
landic, but
Stefanía is
enthusiastic
about a po-
tential trans-
l a t i o n . “ I t
would be very
exciting,” she
says. “I think
there’s a lot of
interest from
both Icelanders
and foreigners
alike in bringing
these works to a
larger audience.”
She also speaks
hopefully about the overall tra-
jectory of Icelandic language po-
etry. “I’m really optimistic,” she
explains. “New voices are being
heard and I also feel a lot of people
do concentrate on the art itself, in-
stead of just trying to become fa-
mous through Instagram poetry.”
A new generation
Will there be future projects
similar to this? Stefanía is reti-
cent but confirms that there are,
as she says, “quite a few irons in
the fire.” She also voices hope
that more students will take part
in the course. “It’s the start of a
new generation of Icelandic poets,”
agrees Jóhannes, “And I’m really
excited to see where it will go.''
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“It’s the end of
one generation
and now they’re
letting the next
generation get
involved.”
Young poets of Pinterest, assemble!
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