Lunch hour programs with Icelandic writers in Harpa in July

In July, The Icelandic Literature Center and the City of Literature and are hosting a literary lunch hour program at restaurant Munnharpan in Harpa, Reykjavík Concert Hall, every Thursday at 12 pm. There you can enjoy a light meal or refreshments while meeting a local writer and acquainting yourself with life on this northerly island from a poetic point of view. 

The lunch program in July is a part of the exhibition "The Art of Being Icelandic" in the Reykjavik City Hall featuring Icelandic literature in translation. The exhibition is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends until 28th July. The City Hall is situated by the Reykjavik City Lake. 

Programme in Harpa:

Thursday, July 4th at 12 pm

Andri Snær Magnason: From Sci Fi to Supermarket Poetry
Andri Snær Magnason will read from his books, recently published in English - the Story of the Blue Planet, a children's book for all ages and from LoveStar, his Sci Fi novel that just received a Philip K. Dick nomination.  Andri will talk about these books and also give a little insight into his early work likeBonus Poetry, published by Bónus Supermarkets in Iceland and from Dreamland - his non fiction book for which he was awarded the Icelandic Literary Prize for the second time. Andri Snær Magnason is one of Iceland‘s best known writers of the younger generation and he is also known as an environmental activist and an inspiring speaker.

Thursday, July 11th at 12 pm

Vilborg Davíðsdóttir: Strong Women in the Viking- and English Age in Iceland
Vilborg will talk about her recent works, telling the story of the spectacular woman, Audur the Deepminded, who came to Iceland from the British Isles, fleeing violent conflict in Scotland between the Norse Vikings and the native Picts and Scots. Also, she will read from On the Cold Coasts, a novel based on actual events that took place in the 15th century, during a time called the English Age in Icelandic history.  Vilborg Davíðsdóttir has a thorough knowledge and insight into the history and lives of the people who lived in this era. “She tells the Icelandic Sagas from the women's point of view”, claims a literary critic.

Thursday, July 18th at 12 pm

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir: The Interests of an Anti-Viking; Sex, Death and Cultivating Roses
The writer Audur Ava Olafsdottir discusses her novels, in particular the best- seller The Greenhouse(Rosa Candida in French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch), which is being translated into 21 languages, including Chinese and Arabic. The Greenhouse won the Prix de Page Award as the best European novel published in France in 2010 and the Prix Page des Libraires in Québec, Canada.  “At once wryly observant and sweetly comic, The Greenhouse is a meditation on such sweeping themes as sex, death, becoming a parent, manhood, and finding a place for oneself in the world which doesn't once fall prey to cloying generalizations or cliche.”

Thursday, July 25th at 12 pm

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir: Can Iceland be the Scene of a Crime?
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is one of Iceland‘s best known crime story writers. Her novels are immensely popular with local readers and they have also gained critical acclaim and popularity abroad. The central character in her series is the lawier Thóra Gudmunsdóttir, who‘s office is just up the road from Harpa in central Reykjavik. Yrsa will read from her books in English and talk about her novels, with a special emphasis on how it feels to be a crime story writer in a country that is blessed with a low number of violent crime.Yrsa Sigurðardóttir‘s novels have been translated to numerous languages and are published world-wide. According to British newspaper The Times, she is one of the best Nordic crime story writers today.