Icelandic Bedtime Stories at Icelandair Hotel Loftleidir

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30. August 2010

Icelandic Bedtime Stories at Icelandair Hotel Loftleidir

BRING YOUR BUNNY SLIPPERS TO THE BRAND NEW ICELANDIC BEDTIME STORIES
A COSY WAY TO START YOUR WEEKEND IN ICELAND

What: Live, fun readings from Icelandic literature, presented by professional actors in English.
When: Thursday evenings at 21 hrs.
Where: Here at the Hotel Loftleidir Auditorium. Free entrance.
Dresscode: Anything – including pyjamas. We provide the hot chocolate and the blankets.

SNEAK IN, LEAN BACK AND ENJOY.

The perfect way to spend a cosy evening and start your weekend in Iceland, these bedtime stories are free for guests to attend and presented in English. We also encourage you to wear your pyjamas; we’ll provide the hot chocolate and some blankets under which to snuggle during the readings.

Each week’s bedtime story will feature a different theme from Icelandic literature, including readings from Nobel Prize winning author Halldor Laxness and a night devoted to the burgeoning genre of Icelandic crime fiction.

Every Thursday at 21:00, admission is free and everyone is welcome - whether with striped pyjamas and bunny rabbit slippers or not!

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT A LITERARY NATION

Literature is at the very heart of Icelandic culture.
In Iceland there are more books published per capita than in any other country, around 2000 titles each year. Literacy is also very high in Iceland, around 99%.
Iceland experienced a golden age of writing in the 13th and 14th centuries, when the renowned Icelandic sagas were written, and ever since literature has been closely identified with the self-image of the Icelandic nation. Sagas of Icelanders take place in the period from the settlement of Iceland around 900 AD until the 11th century; most of the writers remain unknown.
Icelandic literature is unique in Europe in terms of linguistic continuity, Icelandiclanguage underwent little change over the centuries, which means that even today Icelanders can read their medieval literature with ease.
Although Iceland is a fairly small country, it boasts a Nobel laureate in literature. Halldor Laxness (1902-1998) is one of the most beloved authors in Iceland. He received the 1955 Nobel Prize in literature and is considered one of the greatest European novelists of the twentieth century. His works have been translated into at least fifty languages, the most famous being the novelsIndependent People and The Iceland’s Bell.
Icelands’ most popular writer is Arnaldur Indridason. He has in recent years become an international sensation, his crime novels are available in more than thirty languages in over hundred countries. Indridason has written thirteencrime novels, six of which have so far been translated into English. He has won several international awards for his works, including the Glass Key for best Nordic crime, the CWA Gold Dagger and recently the The Barry Award in the US. Indridason’s novels have sold in more than six million copies worldwide.
Iceland will be Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011.

Further reading / Interesting links
www.gljufrasteinn.is
Gljúfrasteinn was the home and workplace of writer Halldor Laxness and his family for more than half a century. It has now been opened to the public as a museum and it’s website gives very good insight to Laxness’ works.

www.eymundsson.is
The website of the largest bookstore in Iceland.

www.sagnanet.is
Here you will find digital images of Icelandic manuscripts and texts.

www.bokmenntir.is
The website of the Reykjavik City Library offers excellent information about contemporary Icelandic authors and their work.

www.forlagid.is
The largest online bookstore in Iceland.