Iceland review - 2019, Síða 98

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Iceland Review
people were doing because often, you’ll see how
publishers tend towards one style over another, one
type of author gets published over others. I liked
to see the whole flora of different approaches that
got to bloom in this environment, how people got
to try out all sorts of different things. In that sense,
it’s a group that’s not easily defined, there’s not one
writing style or approach that you can point to and
say that’s what makes a Meðgönguljóð poet.”
Poetry in motion
Vala is now focused on moving forward. “I won’t say
I’m moving on to publishing real books – because
Meðgönguljóð was a real project, producing real
books – but I’ll be focusing on bigger, longer books.”
The poet, who was raised in the US and is bilingual,
wants to use her experience from Partus to create
a literary bridge between Iceland and the UK. “I’m
developing a methodology where I can work from
both places, writing in either language or trans-
lating between them. The translations will be the
bridge between the two places, but I will still con-
tinue publishing Icelandic writers in Icelandic and
also publish British writers in English.” The first
project of this new initiative was Waitress in Fall, a
selection of poems by Kristín Ómarsdóttir, which
Vala translated and Partus published in the UK in
collaboration with UK publishing house Carcanet
Press. “It was a way for me to try publishing some-
thing abroad, working with someone with more
experience. It went very well: the book sold out and
was very well received.”
Vala is cautious, feeling out the industry before
she dives in head-first. “That first experience was
good, but I’ve been taking it slowly. Everything is
a little more complicated abroad than you would
expect it to be. Here at home, where distances are
so short, you can get everything sorted so quickly.
Abroad everything moves a lot slower. There’s
more competition and you need to make your ideas
sharper.” Iceland’s publishing industry is small
but scrappy, and a do-it-yourself attitude can get
you far. “Here, that’s always been an option, at
least to begin with, just doing it yourself. Several
established poets started out self-published,
Kristín Ómarsdóttir and Sjón, for example. It fits
well within the national psyche. You don’t see that
as much in the UK, there’s stigma attached to it.
Abroad, you’re not a real writer unless you have a
publisher who handles things.”
A fine balance
Publishing literature, especially poetry, isn’t really
known to be a get-rich-quick scheme, but Vala has
found that it is important to find a balance between
business and ideology. “I think most publishers
have found a formula that works for them, where
they publish stuff that will sell well enough for them
to be able to also release material that they know
won’t sell as well but they want to do for artistic
or aesthetic purposes. That’s the key really: you
don’t want to have to demand that of art, that it
will sell, but realistically, if you want to keep going,
you have to have some money coming in as well.”
While keeping funds coming in is important, Vala
wouldn’t want all her projects to be focused on the
bottom line. “I wouldn’t want to be in publishing to
make money, I do it because I believe in literature
and I believe in the writers I work with, and to me,
it’s important to keep that going. But I also know
that I wouldn’t be able to do this if I were always
on the verge of burning out, working three jobs to
keep things afloat, never paying myself a salary. It’s
important to keep on top of the business side as
well – not to make lots of money, but to make sure
what you’re doing is sustainable.”
In some ways, publishing has been a frustrating
education in the importance of marketing. “I don’t
think people realise how big a part of being a poet
is dealing with promotion. Publishing a book during
the Christmas book flood is a full-time job for up to
six months, just promoting the book. It’s a shame,
because if you have a personality that’s not suited
to self-promotion, your book might not sell well as
a result.” Vala wanted to find a way to change that,
but quickly found out there’s only so much a pub-
"It’s a group that’s not eas-
ily defined, there’s not one writ-
ing style or approach that you can
point to and say that’s what makes a
Meðgönguljóð poet."