publisher’s note
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Publisher’s Note: Bravely Stating The Obvious
In 1939, reviewing a book by Bertrand Russell, George Orwell wrote, “We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” January saw international leaders meet in Davos, Switzerland. The most awaited…
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Publisher’s Note: Living In The Ruins Of A Civilisation
In Bede’s 8th-century history of England, he describes how the Saxons live in Roman ruins, which they don’t have the skills to maintain or reproduce. By the 12th-century, some English scholars attribute the Roman ruins to a race of giants. Mere mortals…
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Publisher’s Note: We’re Looking For A Whale
In the past weeks, the discussion about the state of media in Iceland has flared up again following an announcement from local media company SÝN that they will no longer be providing television news on weekends due to financial issues, bringing to…
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Publisher’s Note: Feudal Capitalism
Following a Supreme Court judgement last month, the Icelandic banks changed their mortgage offerings. Result: Normal people can not take a loan to buy a home in Iceland. In the past 15 years this has become exponentially more difficult. This is because…
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Publisher’s Note: Thralldom 2.0
In the past decade 45,000 people have moved to Iceland for work. A side effect of a tourism boom. We are now learning that some of them, often women, are victims of human trafficking. We act surprised. We shouldn’t be. In the…
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Publisher’s Note: Music When The Lights Go Out
I had a conversation with an artist of my generation some years ago. We expected to be shocked by contemporary music, but instead we were just hearing shallow lyrics and seeing shameless commercialisation. No principles. No truth to power. When shooting the…
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Publisher’s Note: The Second PM On Our Cover
The Grapevine has been published for 22 years, yet only once before have we had the sitting prime minister on our cover. Our covers have tended to be graced by figures from the cultural scene, though, every now and then, we’ve featured…
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Publisher’s Note: On The Duty Of A Neighbour
Three years ago this month I moved back to Iceland after seven years in Sweden. Moving to the Nordics and back is a very common Icelandic experience. For work. For studies. It’s familiar, just bigger, better weather, and everything works. The pace…
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Publisher’s Note: Gravitational Pull
I’m stealing the new editor’s metaphor. When I founded this magazine in 2003, I didn’t think we’d make it through the first year. After I left it in 2009, I never thought I’d return to it again. But decades later, the magazine…