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Saga Connections #6: In Conversation with Andri Snær Magnason
June 2, 2021 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
$8
We are very pleased to have Andri Snær Magnason from Iceland coming to Saga Connections on June 2, 2021 at 7:30pm EDT. Andri Snær Magnason is an award winning poet, writer and documentary film-maker author in Iceland.
Magnason’s novel, LoveStar got the Philip K Dick Special Citation 2013, and the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire in France for best translated Science Fiction of 2016. LoveStar was chosen “Novel of the Year” by Icelandic booksellers and received the DV Literary Award. His most recent children’s book, The Casket of Time won the Icelandic Literary Award and was nominated for the Nordic Council Children’s book Award. His children’s book, The Story of the Blue Planet, was the first children’s book to receive the Icelandic Literary Prize and has been published and performed in 40 countries. In 2021, he won the Writers’ Award from the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV. Andri Snær Magnason will speak to us on his latest book, On Time and Water, which is now released in English and in more than 30 other languages. It was shortlisted for the Nordic Councils Literary Prize of 2021.
On Time and Water offers a thought-provoking discussion on climate change from the perspective of a poet and philosopher: so quite a different approach. The book also has wonderful and inspiring descriptions of beautiful Icelandic landscapes and glacial fields. Since Iceland is a land of glaciers and an island surrounded by water, the focus is on water and connections Magnason drew between Iceland and another frozen land, Tibet. Magnason was invited to interview the Dalai Lama and this spurred him to research into the ancient creation stories associated with the Himalayas. He discovered surprising connections between these ancient myths and old Icelandic sagas. The interconnection between us is deep and never so important to recognize as now, as we face the challenges of climate change.
Magnason also has a very creative way of making the passage of time very real, and thus conveying the scale of rapid change in the environment. For us, in exploring our Saga Connections, his call for us to connect emotionally with the implications of climate change by touching deeply into our families, is most relevant. We have been looking back at our ancestors, but Magnason asks us to connect forward. He describes how we can personally touch 270 years of Time. What we do today will make a difference to someone we will know and love. Magnason provides the science behind climate change, but he brings those monochromatic facts to life by putting real faces on the people who will be affected, and in offering the language of poetry to connect with Nature.
His book is a must-read. While acknowledging the urgency of a needed global response to change the trajectory of climate change before we reach an impassable tipping point, Magnason offers inspiration and hope.
Do come out for this rare chance to speak up close with a world-renowned poet, playwright and author. Join us for Saga Connection 6 – In Conversation with Andri Snær Magnason.
This Saga Connections event is $8 for the general public and Free for ICCT members in good standing. Check back here for registration information in early May.
