The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1981, Page 21

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
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answered to Wordsworth’s definition — he
was a man talking to men. His aim was to be
simple, direct and pungent, with his every
word pulling its full weight. In writing his
verses, he asked for no shortcuts, no easy
methods. He accepted the restraints of the
intricate verse forms of Icelandic poetry.
He did not write for bread or for applause.
He wrote because he felt that he had some-
thing to say that should be said. He had a
boundless sense of the absurd. In his verse
he made an assault on social pretensions, on
the foibles and follies of society. He had an
abiding hatred of smugness, affectation,
pomposity, pushfulness and dullness. Any
manifestation of these not uncommon
human traits would promptly arouse his pen
to activity. A natural target for his muse
were those individuals who place too high a
value on themselves for their wealth, or the
position which their exertions, or their in-
fluence, have won for them. He held firmly
with Bums: ‘a man’s a man for a’ that.’ A
shaft of satire was sure to be directed by his
pen at any man who had assigned to himself,
in his own imagination, a starring role in the
drama of life. His satire penetrated to a
deep level. Sometimes a resentment was
felt by the person who was the target of its
barb.
On Monday, January 5, 1925, the Mani-
toba Free Press carried the following head-
line: ‘Fire Chases Winnipeg Congregation
to Street’. About 100 members of the con-
gregation of the Free Church of Scotland
had been holding their morning service in
the Icelandic Good Templars Hall, at the
corner of Sargent Avenue and McGee
Street, in Winnipeg, when smoke was seen
issuing from the rear of the hall. Three fire
engines were shortly on the scene. The
members of the Free Church left the hall in
an orderly manner and the fire was soon
brought under control. Damage was esti-
mated at $10,000, part of it being caused to
two pianos — a grand and an upright —
which were both badly soaked by water.
The Canadian Icelandic community had
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