Author: angela rawlings - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Moving Forward With The #MeToo Conference

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The inaugural #MeToo: Moving Forward conference was held in Reykjavík from September 17th to 19th. Co-sponsored by the Nordic Council…

Interweaving Reality And Imagination: Ian McEwan Accepts Literature Prize

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Literature has always been integral to Icelandic culture, though literary awards are a relatively new feature of the country’s heritage….

Twenty Years of Skriðuklaustur

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Just beyond Iceland’s largest forest and by the southern tongue of a long, slender lake purported to house a cryptid…

Reykjavík Strikes Back: Iceland And The Climate Strike

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Millions of people across the planet have taken to the streets calling for urgent action on the climate crisis. The…

East Iceland: Hearts, Arts, Eats, And East Heat

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We stare into the canyon. The glacial river Jökulsá á Brú roars by Stuðlagil, one of Iceland’s largest collections of…

Hekla Björt Helgadóttir: Paint The Poem

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In one frame, a crescent moon lays on its back. In another, a skeleton thinks. Cut-out words like “hernámi” (occupation)…

Literature: Threads That Bind

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“I wanted to tell this story because I think it’s highly relevant,” says Kristín Amalía Atladóttir, “not only as a…

Lights! Camera! Tractor!: Getting Real With Award-Winning Filmmaker Grímur Hákonarson

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Farmers are protagonists. Sets are sheep sheds and weather-worn farmhouses. Tractors steal the scene. Someone flings mud and sheep shit…

UNESCO Embraces Vatnajökull: Iceland’s National Park Now A UNESCO World Heritage Site

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This summer, Vatnajökull National Park was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In order to determine the suitability of the…

Mass Whale Rescue in Reykjanes

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A second mass whale stranding in three weeks occurred Friday on Southwest Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula. The stranding happened on the…

The Vegan Food Guide: A Reykjavík ExtraVEGANza

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It wasn’t a million years ago that it was hard to come up with a reliable dinner recommendation for vegans…

The Books Come Out: QueeReads Features Elías Knörr & More

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“We just do this for the party,” Bjarndís Tómasdóttir laughs. “That’s a meme.” Along with Elísabet Thoroddsen, Bjarndís co-organizes QueeReads,…

Gamlaeyri Whale Stranding: A Difficult Journey To The Whale Wreck

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Note: Gamlaeyri is extremely hazardous, and unreachable by regular car or hiking. Low tide is a short window, as the…

Locals On Jet-Skis Drive 100 Pilot Whales Away From Snæfellsnes Shoreline

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Over the weekend, nearly 100 pilot whales were spotted off the northwest coast of Snæfellsnes peninsula, close to Ólafsvík and…

Photos: Mass Pilot Whale Death in Snæfellsnes, West Iceland

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A mass stranding of over 50 pilot whales occurred last week in West Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula. The event occurred on…

Prison and Paradise: Eminent UK Poets Share Letters With Iceland

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Reykjavík’s literary world celebrated solstice with a duet of events featuring heavyweight UK poets Lavinia Greenlaw, Paul Muldoon and poet…

Elín Agla Briem On Witches, Elf Rocks & The Árneshreppur Yurt

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In Iceland’s rural Westfjords district of Árneshreppur, a struggle brews for the memory of the land. The unexpected tension lies…

Mother Tongue Baths: G! Festival’s Literary Programme Features Diaspora Writers

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A spotlight falls on Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen. She stands to read aloud a poem in the Fjósið cowshed. Moments…

Beyond Death And Satan: Ragnar Kjartansson’s “Key Works” On Show In The Faroes

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Outside, it is warm. Faroese orchids and petit daisies undulate with a light breeze, their forms catching occasional sunlight as…

At The Speed Of Birds: The Eyris And Eyries Of The Westfjords

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The car is running on fumes as we emerge from the belly of the mountain, driving north out of a…