Letters from the North American-Icelandic Children’s Newspaper Sólskin, is an open-access e-book collecting transcriptions and original English translations of a group of letters written by North American-Icelandic children and published in Sólskin (meaning “Sunshine”), an Icelandic-language children’s newspaper. 

Sólskin was published out of Winnipeg, Manitoba as a part of the larger newspaper Lögberg. It was designed to be clipped out and folded once to form a miniature four-page paper. Letters from the North American-Icelandic Children’s Newspaper Sólskin includes 155 individual letters published in Sólskin between October 1915 and April 1918.

Christopher Crocker, creator of the e-book and Icelandic language and literature sessional instructor at UM, became aware of Sólskin when he was working on an article about Icelandic novelist and Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness. “The letters provide rare and remarkable insight into the lives and perspectives of children in the North American-Icelandic community in the early 20th century in their own words.” He collected and translated the letters to make them more accessible.

Christopher explained his choice of making his work freely and publicly accessible. “I’m a strong believer in open access initiatives and feel that researchers should always look for opportunities to make their work as accessible as possible, especially when their research receives public funding.” The e-book was supported in part by the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program.

Using Pressbooks or any other online publishing software for the first time, Christopher was impressed with the accessible interface, the flexibility of Pressbooks, and the support provided by UM Libraries and UM Copyright Office. “Katrin Nielsdottir first directed me toward Pressbooks and put me in touch with Janice Winkler who was very helpful in setting me up on the platform,” he said.

Join us to celebrate the release of Letters from the North American-Icelandic Children’s Newspaper Sólskin:

• February 15, 2023 (Wednesday)
• Iceland Boardroom, 3rd Floor, Elizabeth Dafoe Library, University of Manitoba
• 4:30 p.m. Reception
• 5:00 p.m. Presentation by Christopher Crocker, Icelandic language and literature sessional instructor at UM
• Refreshments will be served

Contact Katrin Nielsdottir for any questions.

At the University of Manitoba, over 50 international student exchange agreements are offered to over 20 destinations through the UM Student Exchange Program. The program allows students to see the world while earning credits toward their degree and paying regular tuition fees.

There are also opportunities to travel and study outside of the formal exchange program. These could be through summer travel study courses offered by the Faculty of Arts, internship/research/teaching opportunities abroad or even through short-term language and culture programs offered by other universities such as the University of Iceland, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem or the Canadian Summer School in Germany, to name a few.

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine

We invited Eric Chartier, a student in the Faculty of Arts, to answer a few questions on what could be expected from a summer program. Chartier attended the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies International Summer School in Modern Icelandic Language & Culture in Reykjavik.

Eric Chartier. Credit: Simonetta Positano

FACULTY OF ARTS: HOW LONG WERE YOU GONE AND WHEN?
CHARTIER: I was gone from July 2 to August 2, 2022. The course I took ran for one month from July 4 to July 27.

WHY TRAVEL? WHY ICELAND?
I knew over the course of my undergraduate studies that I wanted to do an exchange somewhere for something. When COVID-19 hit I thought that I had missed my window, but Peter John Buchan (instructor and department head of UM’s Department of Icelandic Language and Literature) encouraged us to apply for this course. Since I was completing my minor in Icelandic, I thought that would be a good way to cap my undergraduate studies. I should also thank the Olson-Jonsson Scholarship fund as their financial support greatly helped me enjoy this opportunity.

WHAT DID YOUR PROGRAM INCLUDE?
It included 80 hours of instruction at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. Seventy of those hours were focused on language and 10 were focused on modern Icelandic society and culture. In those 10 hours we received lectures on Icelandic music, art, architecture and current issues, among other subjects. We also had field trips scheduled for a variety of culturally significant locations not just in Reykjavik but also in the surrounding area such as Þingvellir, Reykholt, and the highlands.

WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE PART OF YOUR EXPERIENCE?
For me, it was actually the day I arrived. After arriving in Reykjavik, I met with a representative of the Árni Magnússon Institute in order to get set with my accommodations. I got my assigned unit and keys so went to go get set up in my dorm. When I arrived at the dorm however, I couldn´t open my door! After talking with the representative, they had me go to another dorm while they sorted out the key situation. Turns out they had accidentally switched my key with another participant´s. This experience did quickly introduce me to some of the other students and staff in the program so I think it actually helped some of my nerves in settling in socially. It also was NOT indicative of how the program was ran for which I am also thankful!

HOW HAS THE PROGRAM HELPED YOU NOW THAT YOU ARE BACK IN CANADA? WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
The biggest thing this program helped with was getting myself exposed to another culture. While I have been to other countries such as Cuba and Mexico, I had never been abroad for an extended period of time. Being in Iceland for a month made me feel like a resident as opposed to a visitor or a tourist. I feel like I actually got to properly experience Icelandic culture as opposed to merely being exposed to it. This has helped me change how I see the world and has made me a more informed human being.

My time in Iceland was big for my personal growth. I learned a lot of things about myself that I didn´t know of or wasn´t sure of before. I also got to meet a lot of new people, some of whom I´m still actively friends with to this day.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TRAVEL STUDY OR EXCHANGE TO OTHERS?
I would highly recommend this opportunity. Everyone I met was super friendly and helpful. I got to experience Iceland in a way that I never would´ve considered or thought possible before. It´s the kind of thing where you get out what you put in, and the program makes you want to put as much in as you can.

The various student travel study programs available at UM are a great way to broaden horizons, gain practical experience and have life-changing personal experiences.

Those interested in travelling for one or more semesters can visit the UM Student Exchange Program webpage and book a meeting with an exchange coordinator to find out more. The deadline to apply for general Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024 and Summer 2024 exchanges is January 31, 2023.

Those looking for short-term summer opportunities can check with their instructors or contact the Faculty of Arts Language Centre (103 Isbister Building) for guidance. The deadline to apply for the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies International Summer School in Modern Icelandic Language & Culture is February 15 of each year. Other programs will have different deadline dates.

To discover a variety of internship, research and teaching opportunities available to UM undergraduate and graduate students, visit the Faculty of Arts Language Centre.

To find out more about UM travel courses (individual courses taught by UM professors in locations other than Winnipeg), check Aurora, ask your instructor or visit the Faculty of Arts Language Centre.

The Department of Icelandic Language and Literature has established a “free play” tradition which encourages students to pursue original projects and create new works inspired by Old Norse myths and legends. Creation Myths of the North: An Exhibit of Student Artwork shows some of the pieces created by students over the last few years.

OPENING

Artists and scholars will discuss their work at an opening with a reception to follow in the Icelandic Boardroom. The event is open to the public and all are welcome to attend.

Date: September 22, 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Venue: Icelandic Reading Room, Third Floor, Elizabeth Dafoe Library, University of Manitoba

The event will also include a discussion of the new book Cultural Legacies of Old Norse Literature: New Perspectives, based on research and events supported by the Department.

EXHIBITION

The exhibition showcasing student artwork comprises original and multimedia pieces and will be displayed.

Date: September 22, 2022, to December 1, 2022

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday (Check hours)
Venue: Dr. Paul H.T. Thorlakson Gallery, Icelandic Reading Room, Third Floor, Elizabeth Dafoe Library, University of Manitoba

“This guy’s role in terms of preserving medieval Icelandic literature is incredible and then to produce this kind of scholarly work about it is just amazing.” University of Manitoba Icelandic Department head PJ Buchan talks about the university acquiring a rare Scandinavian book.

Watch the full Global News video below.

More commonly referred to as Literatura Runica, the book is one of the most significant early scholarly texts on medieval Scandinavia, which enriches the Icelandic collection’s runology and magic publications.

“In addition to this work being of value to Icelandic students, it could also allow Latin students a closer inspection of medieval Latin as it was written by Northern Europeans during the 17^th century,” says Peter John Buchan, head of Icelandic studies, University of Manitoba.

The rare book was written in the 17^th century by Ole Worms, an influential Northern European antiquarian, best known as the caretaker and namesake of an extremely important Old Icelandic manuscript — Codex Wormianus.

Worm’s position in runology influenced American horror fiction author H. P. Lovecraft to create a character of the same name, Olaus Wormius (Latinized form of Ole Worms), who translated the fictional Necronomicon (Book of the Dead) from Greek to Latin.

The book consists of three Old Norse texts in Icelandic (rendered in runes) and Latin:

• Krákumál (Speeches of the Crow) is a monologue of the legendary Viking hero, Ragnar Loðbrók as he dies in a snake-pit.
• Hǫfuðlausn (Head’s Ransom) is attributed to the Icelandic poet Egill Skallagrímsson in the anonymous Icelandic saga that bears his name.
• Skáldatal (Catalogue of Poets) is considered as the first literary history of Iceland and translated in Latin only in the book.

“It is also an important work for the history of print, representing early print culture. The typefaces for printing runic letters were unavailable and had to be created to produce this work. It may very well be the first work to print runes with movable type,” adds Buchan.

The pandemic has changed the future of research by breaking geographical boundaries. Online Icelandic resources, including a dictionary, a newspaper, a magazine and audio books, have been added to the Libraries Archives & Special Collections, allowing students and researchers to keep connected with the materials virtually and achieve their academic goals.

This book is currently housed in the Archives & Special Collections Rare Book Room in the Elizabeth Dafoe Library. Contact Katrín Níelsdóttir, Special Collections Librarian to schedule an appointment to view the content, and visit the library catalogue for more information.

Some materials in the Icelandic Collection are also available in English, check our Icelandic Collection subject guide for the latest news and collection information.

His lecture, The Colour of Hell, Icelandic Sagas and the Occult, is free and open to all.

What: Distinguished Visting Lecturer Ármann Jakobsson
When: Tuesday, Mar. 8, 7-9 p.m.
Where: Icelandic Collection, Third floor of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library, Fort Garry campus

Funding and support for this event is provided by the U of M’s Office of the President, the department of Icelandic Language and Literature, the U of M’s Icelandic Collection, and the U  of M’s Institute for the Humanities.

Please join us in the Icelandic Boardroom in Dafoe Library from 3:30 to 5:30 on Thursday, October 8th for the first discussion, and at the same time for the second discussion on Thursday, October 15th. The culmination of these events will be a performance of Grettir’s Saga in The Black Hole Theatre by Icelandic performer Elfar Logi Hannesson. It is completely free and will take place on Thursday, October 22nd from 2:30 until 3:15, with questions until 4:00.

For more information, please contact Peter John Buchan (peter.buchan@umanitoba.ca or 474-9551) or Catari Macaulay Gauthier (catari.macaulaygauthier@umanitoba.ca or 474 8487).

Sponsored by The Department of Icelandic Language and Literature and The Department of English, Film and Theatre’s Literary Reading Series.

At this event Maddin will show clips and discuss the film with critic Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader and George Toles, professor in the U of M’s department of English, Film, and Theatre. (Two other events are also taking place, please see below for details.)

The filmmaker is celebrating the film’s release on DVD and Blu-ray by Criterion video. My Winnipeg won Best Canadian Feature Film (TIFF 2007), Best Documentary (San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award 2008), Best Experimental Documentary (International Urban Film Festival, Tehran 2009), and voted one the Best Films of the Decade (2000s) by the late film critic Roger Ebert.

In the past 30 years Guy Maddin has created countless shorts and 11 feature films, including the just-completed The Forbidden Room, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and opened the 2015 Berlin Film Festival Forum.  He is a member of the Order of Canada and Order of Manitoba, and was awarded the Telluride Silver Medallion for life achievement in film in 1995.

What: Celebrating the Criterion release of My Winnipeg
When: Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2015, 7 p.m.
Where: Robert B. Schultz Lecture Theatre, Rm 172 St. John’s College, 92 Dysart Rd.
All welcome. Free Admission.

Rosenbaum will also join assistant professor Jonah Corne from the department of English, Film, and Theatre for two other special events.

What: “Cinema in the Age of the Internet: A Conversation with Jonathan Rosenbaum.” Moderated by U of M’s Jonah Corne.
When: Monday, March 9, 7 p.m.
Where: Plug In Gallery, 460 Portage Avenue

Guy Maddin’s friend and fellow Winnipegger Marcel Dzama created some suitably surreal images for our release of My Winnipeg, the filmmaker’s emotionally true history of his hometown. This gallery shows the progression of Dzama’s work on the project, from sketchbook roughs to pencil drawings to the final watercolor paintings. See more here.
 

Marcel Dzama artwork supplied by Guy Maddin.

Image from the Seven Teachings and More poster

The University of Manitoba’s Department of Icelandic Language & Literature, the Icelandic Collection, and the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture introduce: Garry “Morning Star” Raven’s Seven Teachings and More: Anishinaabeg share their traditional teachings with an Icelander, collected by Björk Bjarnadóttir and illustrated by Gerald Foster.

Where: Iceland Reading Room, 3rd. floor, Elizabeth Dafoe Library, University of Manitoba
When: February 12th, 2015, at 4:30pm
All are welcome – free admission

Presenters

Björk Bjarnadóttir, environmental-ethnologist from Iceland

From the University of Manitoba:
Jefferey Taylor, Dean, Faculty of Arts
Peter Kulchyski, Professor, Native Studies
Birna Bjarnadóttir, Head, Department of Icelandic Language & Literature

Chair: Warren Cariou, Canada Research Chair and Director, Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture.

Garry Raven (1945-2010) lived for most of his life on his property Raven’s Creek at the Hollow Water reserve in Manitoba. He was a traditional teacher and taught at universities, schools, businesses and corporations, traveled all over the world, and participated in creating one of the exhibitions at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian of Washington, DC.

Björk Bjarnadóttir is an environmental-ethnologist. Her interest in ancient cultures and the environment led her to Canada where she worked with Garry Raven and other First Nations people. She now lives in Iceland on a small organic farm with her partner Tómas Atli Ponsi, her cat Moli and around sixty thousand bees.

KIND Publishing, at the University of Manitoba’s Icelandic Department, is honoured to publish The Seven Teachings and More, conversations with Garry Raven collected by Björk Bjarnadóttir, contributions by Raymond Raven and Flora Ruck.

Connected by their own cultures’ ancient roots in song, dance, ceremony and craft, Icelander Björk Bjarnadóttir documents the teachings of traditional Anishinaabeg teacher Garry Raven of Hollow Water, Manitoba. In his teachings Raven used his Anishinaabe heritage and history. Through interviews and medicine wheels The Seven Teachings and More is about how individuals can reclaim their responsibilities to themselves, to others and to Mother Earth.

The partnership was initiated by writer and professor of English literature David Arnason when he served as acting head of the Icelandic department, notes current department head Birna Bjarnadóttir. “The writing contest is run by the Icelandic Festival, and we are proud to be its sponsor,” she says.

The contest supports the core aim of the department. Bjarnadóttir explains, “The task of the only Icelandic department outside of Iceland is to preserve, pursue and promote a cultural heritage that crosses both centuries and continents. As it is, this cultural heritage is in large part made of poetry and prose.”

Thanks to the Valuing Icelandic Presence committee’s fundraising campaign in the 1990s, the department has funds to encourage and support significant creative enterprises. “The writing contest is at the heart of our matter,” says Bjarnadóttir.

Suðureyri, a small Icelandic fishing village perched on the tip of the 13 km-long Súgandafjörður in the Westfjords.

Exploring Iceland

Every year the department also offers a special Icelandic Field School course through the U of M’s Summer Session.

The aim of the course is to explore medieval and contemporary culture in Iceland.

Bjarnadóttir says that between eight and 12 students enroll in the annual four-week trip, which is offered in cooperation with the University of Iceland, the University Centre of the Westfjords and some of the most significant local writers and artists of Iceland. Participants travel around the country, with Reykjavík and the Westfjords being the main sites of study and exploration.

“It’s one of the most demanding courses offered by our department, notes Bjarnadóttir. “The Icelandic Field School is a unique and high profile summer course, which examines three areas — contemporary culture in Iceland, medieval culture in Iceland, and conversational Icelandic.”

No prior knowledge of Icelandic is required. Designed to introduce students from North America to medieval and modern Icelandic culture, as well as the perceived interplay between the local and global aspects of contemporary Icelandic society, the course includes visits to major cultural sites and special cultural presentations such as lectures by scholars, Icelandic writers, poets, and visual artists give readings and performances.

In 2012, says Bjarnadóttir, the Icelandic Field School received a special guest at Holt in Önundarfjord (in the Westfjords region), when Guðbergur Bergsson  — a key figure in Icelandic modern literature and a major European novelist — arrived with pilot Guðni Þorbjörnsson in a small airplane, and gave a talk on Icelandic culture.

The MOMA has just announced a Bjork retrospective, scheduled for late spring 2015.

Another highlight was the 2007 Nature Concert in Reykjavik, featuring avant-garde pop musician and performer Bjork, perhaps Iceland’s best-recognized star.

“The concert was exceptional in the sense that it was held for Iceland’s nature, and organized by a group of artists, writers and other visionary activists,” says Bjarnadóttir.

The travel course is exciting and exploratory in many ways, she adds.

“In addition to the travel course’s unique approach to the subject matter, the course offers students an exceptional opportunity to practice qualities like empathy, thoughtful judgment and respect for the challenging nature of both their subject matter and fellow travelers,” she says.

“The ideal is for students to be able to stay perceptive and focused on the travel course’s exceptionally rich and demanding path of exploration.”

See more images from the Icelandic Field School here and a short film about the experience by one of the participants here.