The Icelandic connection - 01.03.2018, Page 22

20
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
Vol. 70 #1
Oskar translated as Olvid Ykkur (Ale
Yourselves Up). Kainn would certainly
have translated it as ‘Drink Yourself
Drunk’.
Sometimes his poems show his
unhappiness over the Prohibition Era in
the United States from 1920-1933 and
beer that was limited to 2% alcohol
content. More often than not, there is
also praise for home brew. As you know,
Kainn was living in the United States
and suffered from the Prohibition laws
as did his fellow countrymen. This theme
in his poetry resonated well with many
of the Icelandic farmers. Just the word
‘Brennivm by itself was enough to bring
on a smile. And it still does. All the better
farmers during those pioneer years knew
this verse of Kainn’s, which is actually
about a woman: ‘The Guardian Angel’
(Verndarengillinn):
Gamli Bakkus gaf mer smakka
gasdin bestu, 61 og vfn.
Honum a eg Jrad ad Jaakka,
ad Jni ert ekki konan min!
Dear Bacchus offered and I drank
Sweet draughts of ale and wine.
For this gift him will I thank
That you’re no wife of mine!
(transl. Ingrid Roed)
Feminine beauty
Then we get to the second most
common theme of his poetry: women.
Kainn never married and was never
associated with any particular woman
all his life. He was a ‘baslari’, a Western
Icelandic term for ‘bachelor’. But women
were nonetheless very much in his
thoughts, and he often boasted about his
popularity with the ladies as can be clearly
seen in ‘Vorvfsur’ (Poems of Spring)
which first appeared in the publication
Kvidlingur (publ. 1920).
Vorvisur
Kuldinn dvfnar, - kemur nu
kempan mm fra Hruna.
Hver med sfna fjosafru
fer a synfnguna.
Goda tidin gledur 1yd,
groa i hlidum strain,
vorid blfda og fljodin frfd
fara ad fuda Kain.
Furduljost |aad flestum er
'fyrir longu sidan,
upp vid brjostin a ser ber
allar vilja ju'da hann.
(Editor’s note: The poem describes the spring
thaw and then tongue-in-cheek says that the
season brings out the ladies who wish to 'thaw’
Kainn)
There are many types of women, as a
wise man once said, and Kainn’s image of
women would no doubt be judged harshly
by hard-line feminists. In poems and verses
from his earlier years, they are often lovely
and madly in love with him or else foolish
or rather silly. But later in life, when he was
older and frail, his women are described as
being more saintly. And it is with no word
of a lie that many women were warmly
disposed towards this happy-go-lucky old
bachelor. They gave him clothes and food
and even gave him a carpetbag which he
always called it his ‘raptudra’ or ‘travelling
sack’. I do not know what this bag looked
like, but it is interesting to remember that,
in the book The Atom Station, Halldor
Laxness has Ugla use this word for what
women often use to carry small items, most
commonly called a ladies’ carry bag.
The Creed of the Heifer’s Rump
After women, the next most common
theme, according to my unscientific
count, is ministers. Ministers and religion.
Kainn is no religious rebel, but he makes