The Icelandic connection - 01.03.2018, Side 10

8
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
Vol. 70 #1
He lived there until he was eighteen. In
1878, he immigrated to the west. At first,
he lived in Winnipeg and then moved on
to Duluth. Finally, in 1893, he moved to
the Thingvalla area of North Dakota. He
never married and had no descendants.
His education was mostly self-taught and
he had very little formal education before
leaving Iceland.
Kainn labored for most of his adult
life in the northeast North Dakota rural
community called Eyford, which is in
Thingvalla Township. Many of the graves in
the Thingvalla Cemetery were dug by him
and he was the last grave-digger to live in
the Eyford community. The following is
taken from an old newspaper:
“He went at his task as if he were
making up a bedfora tiredfriend, said his
close friend, Dr. Rognvaldur Petursson,
and most of those buried there were the
poet's personal friends. Here he, too, rests
now on the grassy flat, with a small
stone at his head. But at the side of the
church stands a stately monument with
his likeness carved into it. It was placed
there by the friends and admirers of
K.N. in the United States and Canada,
but designed by the neighbors, who
thankfully remember the poet whose
gentle humor lightened their burdens
and eased their struggles for half a
century, brought sunshine into their
homes, and was an ever active geysir
of fin and easy, original wit. Poor as
he was in terms of material possessions,
K.N. enriched these communities and
set their cultural atmosphere as no
other man has. ”
K. N. Julius was a unique, beloved
poet and humorist. Some of his poems
became published in two books. The
original book, Kvidlingar, was published
in 1920. Kvidlingar og Kvcedi (Ditties
and Poems) was published in 1945 and
edited by Richard Beck. In 1937, a book
in Iceland was published called Rabb um K.
N. og Kvedskap bans by Magnus Gfslason.
In 1965, a book called Visnabok Kains /
Kristjan Niels Jonsson (K. N.) was produced
by Tomas Gudmundsson in Iceland.
In the 14 Aug 1946 edition of the
Heimskringla,you can find an advertisement
selling New Books by the Bjornsson Book
Store. K.N.’s book, Kvidlingar, is for sale
at $15.85 and is one of the most expensive
books listed. That would be over $210 in the
2017 value of the dollar.
A large monument, dedicated to K.N.
Julius, was built on the north side of the
church in 1936. The inscription on the
monument to K.N. reads: In Icelandic:
Kimnisskaldid
(by Richard. Beck)
Faeddur til ad faekka tarum.
fair munu betur syngja.