The Icelandic Identity

Hey there, beloved High Five Club members and prospective members,

It's your friends at the Reykjavík Grapevine (Opens in a new window), popping back into your inbox with a hello and to bring you the latest reads from our mag and news from Iceland.

FROM THE MAG

We’re on the streets of Reykjavík with a brand new issue.

On the cover is actor and musician Davíð Þór Katrínarson, who has recently acted in a production of Iceland’s Bell at the National Theatre. Elías Þórsson spoke with Davíð, Dýrfinna Benita Basalan, María Thelma Smáradóttir and Logi Pedro Stefánsson about growing up in Iceland and people of mixed racial heritage and how their experiences present in their art. It’s a very worthwhile weekend read (Opens in a new window).

What’s the deal with Icelandic moss? Is it true that it’s not actually a moss at all? (gasp!) We turned to ecology professor Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir for answers (Opens in a new window).

Other weekend reading from the Grapevine

• Anna Karín Lárusdóttir’s short film Felt Cute challenges the conformity of society’s labels (Opens in a new window).

• Úlfúð Brings Existentialism to a Whole New Level (Opens in a new window)

• Reiðhjólabændur brings bike power to the people (Opens in a new window)

• Ýrúrarí celebrates 10 years of turning sweaters into characters with a solo exhibition (Opens in a new window)

EXTRA! EXTRA! 

• Icelandic Web Domains Targets Of Cybercrime (Opens in a new window)

• Reykjavík Closed To Traffic For Council Of Europe Summit (Opens in a new window)

• KÁRI Plays His Debut Album Release Show in Reykjavík (Opens in a new window)

• Video Premiere: “It’s Always Nice To Be Wanted” by Sara Flindt (Opens in a new window)

LISTEN UP

With the Council of Europe Summit dampening the usual vibrancy of the city centre this past week, we found ourselves turning up our speakers and dancing around to some new music to keep our spirits high. Here’s

Read about (and listen to) the new music streaming at Grapevine HQ in our weekly new music dispatch (Opens in a new window). And stream our new weekly music podcast right here (Opens in a new window).

Have you been keeping up with Valur Gunnarsson’s eight-part series exploring alternative outcomes to key events in Icelandic history? So far, he’s asked “what if Vikings had conquered the world? (Opens in a new window)”, “what if Icelanders had colonised North America? (Opens in a new window)”, “what if Iceland had been wiped out by a volcano? (Opens in a new window)” and “what if Iceland had joined the British Empire? (Opens in a new window)” 

Give them a read and tune in to the Grapevine’s Alternative History of Iceland podcast, where Valur and Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson delve deeper into each “what if” in each episode. If you like history, alternative reality or middle-age dudes talking about stuff that never happened, this podcast is for you (Opens in a new window).

Of course, what can fit within the page limits of our magazine and within the confines of a one-hour podcast is just the tip of the iceberg. Pre-order Valur’s new book What If Vikings Had Conquered the World? And Other Questions of Icelandic and Nordic History, offers in-depth explorations of all the alternative possibilities of historic happenings – we got an advanced copy at the Grapevine and it is a really fascinating read.

The book is out June 1 from Salka Publishing, but you can pre-order your copy now from the Grapevine Store (Opens in a new window).

That's it from us this week. As always, thanks for your support.

<3 Team Grapevine

If you were a member of our High Five Club, this post would have included an exclusive early access link to view our newest YouTube video content, plus sweet discount codes for the Grapevine store and travel portal. Want that?