Saturday 25 August 2018

ferรฐasaga

First published on this date in 1937, I recall having read through W H Auden’s and Louis MacNeice’s collaboration Letters from Iceland in preparation for a short trip there years ago—fascination for Iceland is nothing new or novel but before selfies and social media, I turned to the inter-war pastoral’s section marked “For Tourists.” I don’t have an enduring impression of the correspondence or the travelogue but remember the advice to avoid Reykjavรญk—which I didn’t heed, but we do think it’s a good occasion to revisit the book and plan a return excursion Iceland itself.