Sour grapes & stuff: Issue 12, 2014

Say your piece, voice your opinion, send your letters to letters@grapevine.is

Most Awesome Letter of the Issue

ELVES!

The headlines said the Iceland elves
Played a big role in where they delved
Putting a road where there was none
Would surely please most everyone

But not that dream society
Where helping souls comes naturally
They’re worried about the bones of past
For their elven ancestors to last

With them I have to agree
You can’t destroy what you don’t see
Let’s leave those creations alone
To care for souls that are forlorn

For me it’s always positive
To think that a stranger can give
Care and direction at every turn
Asking for nothing in return

It’s out of place for me to say
Iceland should have it all the way
An elven stitution in their land
For something we don’t understand.

Here’s a submission for a poem I had fun with. Hope you and perhaps your readers can have a chuckle. My personal lore that elves are good for Iceland.

Richard Larkin

Dear Richard,

thank you for sending us your poem. What a thoughtful thing to do, sending around poems like that (and such appropriate timing!). Also, most of your poem is pretty much right on the money. You’re right in asserting that the dream society where helping souls comes naturally is worried about the bones of the past. It’s deeply worried, even. Let’s hope their concerns turn out to be unfounded—we’d hate to see anything happen to the bones of the past. Those things are great.

You’re also correct when you say that it’s positive to think that a stranger can give care and direction at every turn, without asking anything in return. Many strangers do this all the time. It’s like their thing. Such a nice quality, it kinda makes you wish you knew more strangers.

As for the elven stitution, we wholeheartedly agree. Icelanders should definitely have that in their land. We assure you that you have every right to say that, it’s not at all out of place for you to say.

Thanks again for sending along that insightful, delightful bit of poetry. It sure brightened our day.

Love,

The Reykjavík Grapevine

—

As a recent visitor to Reykjavik, I wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much I enjoyed your publication while on vacation.

As the Associate Publisher of an alternative newsweekly in New Orleans, Louisiana, your paper truly gave me an appreciation for how valuable city papers like ours are for locals and visitors.  Your editorial and advertising content provided insight into the local community and the recommendations I received via your Best of Issue, made me feel like I was getting insiders knowledge.

I also followed your mobile site while visiting and discovered that the protests at the American Embassy were taking place around the corner from our apartment.  It was very moving and insightful to witness the huge volume of Icelandic citizens coming out to share their voice to an international crisis that is so far from home.

Keep up the great work and thank you for enhancing my Icelandic experience.

Takk!

Jeanne

Dear Jeanne,

thank you so much for sending us such a nice letter, filled with kind words and praise. Like our friend Richard likes to say: It’s always positive that a stranger can give care and direction, at every turn, asking for nothing in return.

As a colleague, you should pop by our offices for a visit if you’re ever in town again, to lather us with praise in person. That would be cool.