The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1957, Side 16

14
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 1957
does not like to hear a poet interpret
his own poetry? However, he delighted
in reciting from other poets. I remem-
ber particularly his statement after
having recited a good portion of Haf-
Isinn by Matthias Jochumsson: “That
is the finest poem composed in Ice-
landic.” When one considers the
powerful poetic imagery of Haflsinn,
it is easy to understand why it would
appeal to such a poet as DavlS, for
fertility of imagination is precisely
one of the poetic talents most charac-
teristic of DavlS Stefansson.
No one questions the position of
the poet from Fagraskogi in modern
Icelandic literature. He enjoys greater
homage and is more universally ap-
preciated by his countrymen than any
poet of modern times. I suggest that
one of the main reasons for this love
—which borders upon veneration—is
his genuine humility. He loves people.
He is interested in them as human
beings. This interest brings understand-
ing and sympathy. He lives with people
and is a human being in a world made
up of human beings. Above all, he
believes in the essential dignity and
worth of the individual. The chance
of birth placed him among the Ice-
landers, but the nostalgic beauty and
warmth of his poetry places him among
all mankind.
In his latest book, Ljo8 fra liSnu
sumri (Last Summer’s Poems, Reykja-
vik, 1956) he presents essentially the
same basic philosophy as that which
has characterized his earlier writings.
Tire careful reader will observe, how-
ever, a deeper and more penetrating
insight into human problems, a great-
er emphasis upon the ethical prerog-
ative (to use a Kierkegaardian expres-
sion), and a more pronounced inter-
est in a distinctly Christian point of
view. This does not mean that his earl-
ier writings are not Christian in tone,
but rather that (to use Kierkegaardian
terminology again) the emphasis has
veered from the aesthetic to the ethico-
religious.
This shift of emphasis is not some-
thing which can be proved by the
citation of one or two examples. It is
rather a point of view or a mode of
thinking which pervades a succession
of poems. However, in order to ex-
emplify this shift of emphasis one
might consider the essentially aesthetic-
romantic point of view in Stefansson’s
earlier writings, e.g., Allar vildu meyj-
arnar” or “BruSarskornir” in Svartar
fjaSrir (Black Feathers, 1919) or
“KlausturvlniS” in KvteSasafn I-II —
(Collected Poetry, 1930) and compare
this point of view with the essentially
more serious, more pronounced ethieo-
religious philosophy presented in
“Nokkvinn” og “HusmoSir” og "Til
hvers” in LjoS fra liSnu sumri.
It should be reiterated that it is
dangerous to take individual poems
from a book of verse and decide that
these particular selections best repre-
sent the philosophy of the poet. The
judgment of the reviewer is not in-
fallible; he may read into a poem his
own interpretation. Nevertheless, it
does seem possible to discern a definite
direction in Stefansson’s works away
from the aesthetic-romantic and to-
ward the ethico-religious.
One feeling that has remained con-
stant in DaviS’s poetry from first to
last is his love of Iceland and its in-
comparable scenery, love of the langu-
age the people speak, that exquisitely
poetic tongue that defies translation;
love for Icelandic folklore and trad-
itions, and for the people themselves.
This intense love for all that pertains
to his mother country is expressed in
almost every poem, but can perhaps
be seen in clearest focus in “Avarp
Fjallkonunnar” or “FoSurtun”.