The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1961, Blaðsíða 47

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
45
Book Review
ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN
ICELANDIC LITERATURE
University of California,
Berkeley, Cal., —2 volumes, 420 pp.
The University of California pro-
vides correspondence instruction under
the heading “Lifelong Learning’’.
Through that Extension Department,
Loftur Bjarnason, Professor of Litera-
ture, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School,
Monterey, Cal. has released for pub-
lication an Anthology of Modern Ice-
landic Literature in two volumes. The
Anthology consists of translations from
Icelandic into English of selected Ice-
landic literature from 1800 to 1950.
In the Introduction Professor Bjarn-
ason says:
“The literary tradition which created
the Eddas, the involved and complex
Skaldic poetry, and the vigorous yet
almost epigrammatic Sagas is still alive
in Iceland today and is creating a mod-
ern literature of surpassing quality”.
“Actually”, he says “ interest in and
love for literature has never been lack-
ing in the land of the Sagas.” He then
tiptoes over the period 1400 to 1800,
“the centuries of oppression and suffer-
ing”.
The editor points out that novels
cannot be included and concludes his
Introduction as follows:
“Otherwise, this anthology contains
an example or two of each major type
of literature produced in Iceland and
translated into English since 1800.”
Most of the literature selected con-
sists of gems of poetry, but there are
numerous short stories, three plays and
five articles. The selections from each
author are prefaced by a page contain-
ing a biographical sketch which,
though brief, is surprisingly inform-
ative and complete.
Most of the translations of poems
have appeared before; some in books
by the translators themselves, as for
instance, Mrs. Jakobina Johnson, Paul
Bjarnason and Dr. Watson Kirkcon-
nell. Others are to be found in Richard
Becks ‘Icelandic Poems and Stories”,
“20tih Century Scandinavian Poetry”,
the Icelandic weeklies and The Ice-
landic Canadian.
One of 'the translators, who is not
so well known as some of the others,
is GuSmundur J. Gislason. There
is a translation by him of two major
poems: “Skarphedinn Among the
Flames”, SkarpheSinn i brennunni, by
Hannes Hafstein, and ’’Iceland”, Is-
land, by Jonas Hallgrimsson, and that
beautiful six line verse “My Nest” by
Thorsteinn Erlingsson. In translation
it is as follows:
You’re welcome to see how I built
my nest
If my babies dear you will not molest
Remember that they have a mother;
And if they live, to you songs
they’ll sing
About summer fair and the nights
of spring;
So treat them ,my friend, like a brother.
Ten of the short stories appeared in
Becks “Icelandic Poems and Stories”.
This repeated publication bespeaks
their merit and the skill of the trans-
lators.
There are fifteen new short stories.
Three are by Thorsteinn Jbnsson who