The Tipsy Tittle-Tattle Of Hallgrímur Pétursson

Delving into the assorted works of one of Iceland’s most important poets

What is the most recognisable spot in Iceland? Geysir? Sure. Nature, more broadly? Okay. Hallgrímskirkja? Bingo.

The basalt-inspired church perched atop Skólavörðuholt is the place where Reykjavíkingur gather to ring in the new year and where countless passers-through pose for holiday snaps. It features heavily on post cards, in guide books and blogs, while serving as a place of worship for the neighbourhood and those marking various hallmark moments in their lives.

While churches in other branches Christianity may be named for saints or the big man himself — think the Cathedral of Christ the King serving Catholics in Reykjavík’s west end — the Lutheran Hallgrímskirkja is named for 17th century poet Hallgrímur Pétursson.

Hallgrímur is known worldwide as the author of the Passíusálmar or Passion Hymns, which tell the story of the passion. Non-religious readers may better know the passion as the storyline of the smash hit musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Of course, it’s not the iconic works of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber or Ted Neeley’s wailing G above high C in “Gethsemane” being broadcast on Icelandic radio every year to mark Lent.

What’s the buzz?

Not a one trick pony, old Hallgrímur has a slew of other poetic works to his name, both religious and secular. To mark the 350th year since his passing, a selection of poems have now been compiled for the first time in English.

“What Can Be More Perfect? / Hvað verður fegra fundið?” gives readers insight into Hallgrímur’s life and work, along with more than 50 poems on travel, death, vanity, hanging meat, eating fish and tossing back a few cold ones.

“He is one of the most important Icelandic poets and his poetry has lived with the nation for decades — it still does,” says Hallgrímskirkja administrator Grétar Einarsson, underscoring the relatability of the poet’s secular works. “Drinking verses among them! We tend to forget that even Martin Luther liked beer. You know, it’s not like they were all pious and didn’t do anything else.”

A strange thing, mystifying

The new collection was compiled by four women, each an expert on Hallgrímur in one way or another. They are Irma Sjöfn Óskarsdóttir, who serves as the vicar of Hallgrímskirkja; Margrét Eggertsdóttir, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on Hallgrímur and has edited other volumes of his work; Steinunn Jóhannesdóttir, who has written at length about the poet and his wife; and Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir, who contributed to the variorum of Hallgrímur’s work.

But it’s not solely their impressive resumés that dictated the women’s participation in “What Can Be More Perfect?”

“Interestingly, when Hallgrímur was writing the Passion Hymns, he consulted with four women that he knew,” Grétar says of the lore surrounding the poet’s most famed work. “So when he had written one hymn, he gave it to these four women for them to read them and give him a response.”

“And we thought it should be the same thing with this book; to have four women and to keep with what he had done: he consulted women. Plus, Margrét, who also edits the book, is Iceland’s foremost specialist on Hallgrímur Pétursson, so it was also just a logical choice.”

Something more rewarding

Though it includes excerpts from Hallgrímur’s Passion Hymns — you can’t have the greatest hits without including the biggest crowd-pleasers —  “What Can Be More Perfect?” provides an entertaining and often amusing look into life in the poet’s time. “On eating fish,” for one, is so absurdly Icelandic, it’s endearing.

“This book is for anyone interested in Icelandic poetry or literature,” Grétar asserts, “but it’s also a fantastic starting point because of [Hallgrímur’s] importance and his influence on later poets as well. He’s like our Bach or Beethoven — a composer that young composers look to even today. His poetry was, in many ways, groundbreaking.”

“What Can Be More Perfect?” is available from Hallgrímskirkja’s shop and in all good book stores.