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Tag Archives: poetry

Happy anniversary, Icelandic! Posted by on Nov 16, 2012

Today, on the 16th of November, Icelanders celebrate Dagur íslenskrar tungu, the Icelandic Language Day. Icelanders have celebrated their language since the year 1995. The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of Jónas Hallgrímsson, an Icelandic poet often called “the most influential Icelandic poet of all times”. He was also a prominent figure…

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A long time ago on an island far far away… Posted by on Nov 14, 2012

Jóði hét maðr, sonr Gormóar. Jóði var maðr lítill, en svá sterkr, at eigi váru hans jafningjar. En er hann var á unga aldri, lá hann í víkingu ok herjaði. “The man’s name was Yoda, he was Gormo’s son. Yoda was a small man but so strong that no one was his match. When he…

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Ready, steady, recite! Posted by on Sep 5, 2012

Did you know that the world tungl (= moon)* has been said to be the hardest word of Icelandic to rhyme? According to a story by Jón Árnason there’s only ever been one man capable of finding a rhyme for it, a famous skáld (= poet) called Kolbeinn Jöklaskáld (= Kolbeinn glacier poet). One time…

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1 a.m. in Reykjavík. Posted by on Jul 2, 2012

It happened last weekend. I was sitting at my computer by the window, minding my own business, and therefore didn’t notice anything out of ordinary until I looked up for one reason or another and saw that the clock on the wall above me thought it was well past midnight. I knew of the miðnætursól…

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