Iridescent Icelandic
Into Iceland Festival / Literature from the Land of Glaciers and Geysers
Iceland is a European island state in the North Atlantic that is home to around 300,000 people. Despite its sparse population it has an astonishingly rich literary history. As part of the »Into Iceland« festival, NDR Kultur explores the literature of this fascinating Nordic country with authors Auður Jónsdóttir and Halldór Guðmundsson.
The Icelandic language has changed very little over the centuries because it has hardly been subject to external influences. This was still the case for Halldór Laxness, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955. However, in more recent times Iceland’s authors have been keen to expose themselves to cosmopolitan influences.
NDR Kultur explores the past and present of the island’s literature in interview with the authors Auður Jónsdóttir, who lives in Berlin, and Halldór Guðmundsson from Reykjavík.
NDR Kultur will broadcast the reading on the radio programme Sonntagsstudio at 20:00 on 12 March.
Performers
Auður Jónsdóttir
Halldór Guðmundsson
Ulrike Sárkány Moderation