Iceland review - 2016, Page 83

The future story of Icelandic sea-
women has yet to be written, and
a large part of their past remains
in the dark. “I consider my book
only the beginning,” says Willson.
“I interviewed 200 women and have
contact information for at least as
many more.” Historical records
are continuing to come to light.
Willson is applying for grants to
carry on with her research, hop-
ing to focus on some of the early
women. “There’s a whole bunch of
them, like Stokkseyrar-Dísa, who I
don’t even mention in the book. She
lived in the 1600s and basically ran
Stokkseyri and owned several boats,”
Willson reveals. She also has a fasci-
nation with Ísafold Runólfsdóttir
(1829-1901), who was said to be
so strong that she could pull her
wooden rowboat to shore by herself
and send men making unwanted
passes at her “one by one rolling
down the gangway,” as recounted
in Seawomen of Iceland. “Don’t you
love her? I could write a whole
book about her,” Willson laughs.
“Then there’s Þuríður formaður.
I know she’s the most famous but
Þuríður stood up for people, men
and women [demanding justice for
herself and others]. She went to
court—and won. You don’t hear
about that. She really impressed me
as a person.”
Willson is currently working with
a film production company mak-
ing a documentary based on her
research. Shooting is set to begin
this September. Her hope is that her
work will encourage more women
to work at sea. “A lot of women
never think of it as something they
can do. Maybe now they will.” u
An exhibition based on Willson’s
research is currently running at the
Reykjavík Maritime Museum.
A woman (name unknown) wearing
oilskin fishing clothes in 1919-21.
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ICELAND REVIEW 81