The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.2000, Page 45

Vol. 55 #4
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
343
the times, at least, from the poetic point of
view, and there the devil meets his grand-
mother, as it is there I meet them in mid-
stream—namely: I have lagged behind the
times on this side of the ocean. It was said,
that I was the first one to begin to write
"Western Icelandic" poems and that may be
true, as this poem seems to verify:
"My famous beautiful mother tongue
I know the best and love the most.
But in America I learned to mix
it with the official "Dixie" language."
Now things are changing at an enormous
pace here, and I cannot keep up with them,
when I, at the request of President Roosevelt
of the United States of America took upon
myself to lessen the production of poems, and
never compose more than one verse at a time,
and usually have them as short as possible,
without losing any of their power and poetic
value, as this poem illustrates:
"Of lesser poets, first to find,
strangely none of it comes to mind.
A trick, which nobody seems to know
to compose a poem that doesn't show."
But at the very same time the younger
poets were making an effort to make the
longest and narrowest poems. It was maybe
due to sympathy for the paper monopoly, but
whatever the reason I felt it came at a most
inopportune time, moreover I have felt a
strange attitude and change becoming appar-
ent in the younger poets of late. It could also
be that I am getting too old. For that reason I
wrote this verse:
"Our younger generation versifies in
prose,
like poets of yore, in days of Moses,
they rattle off rhymeless nonsense in
speech form
in flowery language that no one under-
stands."
But it is very likely, that blame falls
mostly on myself, and that I am falling behind
as fast as they are going forward as this verse
conveys—
"No changes have I brought about of this
I can for sure be proud
From others haven't learned a thing and
no one gleaned from me a thing."
I am coming closer to where I began and
that is to say, that there is such a profound dif-
ference between myself and the younger gen-
eration, that it will not be bridged in haste, but
the youth count for two-thirds of the whole, so
that it would seem a dull entertainment for
them to listen though I, voiceless and tooth-
less tried to read some nonsense, that could
have been used here in days of yore, but if the
older folks can enjoy my efforts, recall some-
thing for a few minutes then my time cannot
be spent in a better way.
I came here to see and be seen, maybe for
the last time, but like good children, not to be
heard. I am not going to compose poems of
self-praise or praise others. This is enough for
the time being— a warning to others.
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