Andri Magnason » Dreamland

Volksbuhne, Berlin, 4th of December at 17:30

andri — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:34:24 +0000

As a part of the Nordwind festival – Andri Snær Magnason will read on the Volksbuhne in Berlin the 4th of December at 17:30. He will weave a story/lectures/performance through his work, from Bonus Supermarktgedichte to Traumland – using his work to reflect the idea that Iceland is a microcosmos of the world. Iceland is a human laboratory, 300.000 were left on an island and by understanding them we can get insight into many interesting things. Andri tells a story, taking us into the mythological wold of Bonus, into his work of fantasy and science fiction, back to Iceland where events were becoming larger than any science fiction, into the language that is used every day but nobody seems to understand – to the destruction of beautiful landscapes of Iceland – to Greenland where Alcoa wants to build a huge Aluminum smelter like they did in Iceland – to China – where 50% of the world Aluminum production went the last decade.

More here from the official announcement:

Andri Snær Magnason‘s non-fiction book DREAMLAND criticises the destruction of the Icelandic natural heritage by the damming of rivers for the gain of cheap hydro electricity needed for international aluminium companies. The particularity of the Icelandic situation opens onto a wider perspective and helps us understand one fundamental thing: »Global problems« do not really exist – they are only a collection of millions of local problems and challenges people are faced with in their daily lives. Dreamland is a deeply moving book about the major concerns of our times, knowledgeable and written with a rare and touching passion. It is philosophical, political, and full of humour.

Andri Snær Magnason, born in Reykjavik 1973, is one of the best know Icelandic writers. He has written and published novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays, CDs and films. His work has been published or performed in more than 20 countries. Due to his environmental commitment and his role in the political changes following the economic collapse he is now one of the most important voices in the country. In 2009 he filmed as a co-director his bestseller as a thrilling documentary. Both for book and film Magnason received in 2010 the important European KAIROS-prize from the Alfred-Töpfer-Foundation.

More information is here.

Andri in Volksbuhne Berlin, Capitalism Now Freiburg, reading in Zurich and premier in Lucerne.

andri — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:29:20 +0000

Four of my books have now been published in German and now my play will be premiered in Lucerne. From the 27th of November to December 4th I will have readings in Germany in Switzerland and attend a premier in Lucerne. Above is the first trailer we made for the film Dreamland – for the Nattura Concert with Björk and Sigurrós. The song is by Jórunn Viðar, Text by Jakobína Sigurdardóttir, Björk sings.

CAPITALISM NOW! FREIBURG

+++ 27.11. / FREIBURG, Theatre
+++ 11:00 h »Capitalism Now« >
www.theater.freiburg.de/index/TheaterFreiburg/Monatsspielplan.html?SpId=34607

*** 29.11. / ZÜRICH, Orell Füssli Bellevue
*** 20:30 h Reading > www.books.ch/home/OrellFuessliFiliale/Bellevue

DIE GESCHICHTE VOM BLAUEN PLANETEN – PREMIERE LUZERNE

— 30.11. / LUZERN, Theatre
— 13:30 h »Die Geschichte vom blauen Planeten« (Premiere) >
www.luzernertheater.ch/node/93
— 20:00 h Reading > www.luzernertheater.ch/spielplan/literatur-live

GREIFSWALD:

### 1.12. / GREIFSWALD, IKUWO
### 20:00 h Reading > http://ikuwo.de/

BREMEN:

+++ 2.12. / BREMEN, Schwankhalle
+++ 20:00 h Reading > www.schwankhalle.de

NORDWIND FESTIVAL BERLIN:

*** 4.12. / BERLIN, Volksbühne
*** 17:30 h Lecture > www.nordwind-festival.de/2011/de/spielplan

Program on Andri Snær by Johann Kneihs

andri — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:58:25 +0000

Here is a radio program in German (and some Icelandic) by Johann Kneihs in the Austrian National Radio – ORF Ö1. The program is 40 minutes and goes through most of my work and background. From Dreamland, to Bonus Poetry to LoveStar and a lot more. Johann also visits an event that was part of the Reykjavik Art Festival – “The home performance”- when artists invited people to attend a performance at their home. The president of Iceland was a guest at my house. Here is a picture of me and the president from that event. Will not explain why he seems to be giving me cookies on the photo. Andri Snær is part of the Frankfurt festival. If you scroll down a bit – you will find his reading program.

4 books in German and a play in Swiss

andri — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:37:42 +0000

Iceland is the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Bookfair so I will have some busy days in Germany from the 7th – 18th of October. Four of my books have now been published in Germany and one play will premier in November. My touring plan in October can be seen here.

Click the picture for information in German!

Dreamland – Traumland has been published by Orange Press. Dreamland takes a look at Iceland as some kind of a microcosmos, a world in a nutshell, a small planet in itself. Dreamland tries to understand the worlds global problems by observing local problems in Iceland, where it is easy to observe things quite clearly – like living in a test tube. The American US Naval base wanted to leave Iceland – but we did not want to let them go. After fulfilling all the nations need for “clean” energy – the government marketed many of the most fragile and beautiful places in Iceland as a source of cheap energy for multinational corporations running the aluminum industry. If you want a relevant example we can take this waterfall – Aldeyjarfoss – from the Sagenhaftes marketing material – the waterfall is not yet protected.

Orange – Press has also Published Bónus Poetry. A mythological journey through a Bónus Supermarket. Two languages for the price of one – bilingual – in German and Icelandic. Bónus poetry remains one of the most sold volumes of poetry in the history of Icelandic publishing.

Click on the pink pig for the German website.

LoveStar - the paperback is coming out just in time for Frankfurt. LoveStar has been described as something like a mixture of Douglas Adams, Monty Pythons flying Circus, 1984 and the heartbreak romance of Nicolas Sparks. LoveStar won the DV literary award in Iceland and was chosen Novel of the Year by Icelandic booksellers. LoveStar was published by Lubbe – LoveStar is looking forward to meet it’s german audience looking for something more strange from Iceland than a normal crime plot!

And then it is The Story of the Blue Planet, Die Geschichte vom Blauen Planeten. The Blue Planet is the first and only children’s book to win the Icelandic literary award.

The story is published in german by Leipziger Kinderbuchverlag but has been published or sold to publishers in 25 languages. The play from the story will premier in Luzern in Swiss – November 30th.

And then two short stories will be published in Gaben des Himmels – an anthology of Icelandic short stories by Steidl Verlag. One of the stories has actually not been published in Icelandic yet. The book is called Gaben des Himmels and includes short stories by many good icelandic writers.

So I will be touring with my books, reading, speaking, signing the next weeks in Germany. As some will see here this portfolio is a bit strange. Poetry, children’s book, a play, literary science fiction and non fiction. If you are not interested in any of these subjects or have finished reading it all then you might like this CD with Icelandic folkmusic or you can watch Dreamland online here. The movie I co-directed, based on the book Traumland.

Frankfurt Buchmesse tour! 7. oktober – 18. oktober

andri — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:16:14 +0000

Andri Snær reading in Germany:

Köln, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Mainz, Erlangen…

KÖLN / Freitag, 07. Oktober .2011 / 19:30 Uhr

Lange Nacht der isländischen Literatur

Island – ein Land der Gegensätze und Extreme. Seine Bewohner sprühen vor Kreativität. Das beweisen sechs Autorinnen und Autoren des Inselstaats im Nordatlantik: Andri Snær Magnason, Audur Ava Olafsdóttir, Hallgrímur Helgason, Sjón, Steinunn Sigurdardóttir und Yrsa Sigurdardóttir lassen die isländische Literatur in der Kölner Nacht gleißen. Mit Live-Musik.

Moderation: Angela Gutzeit, Arthur Bollason.

Veranstaltungspartner: Deutschlandfunk; Europäische Kommission – Generaldirektion Bildung und Kultur/Programm „Kultur“, Sagenhaftes Island

Fr. 07.10.11 / Beginn: 19:30 Uhr / Roter Saal / 11 EURO, 9 EURO ERM.

COMEDIA Theater, Vondelstraße 4-8, 50677 Köln

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Karlsruhe / Sonntag, 09. Oktober 2011 / 18:00 Uhr / Eintritt frei

Lesung und Gespräch mit dem isländischen Autor Andri Snær Magnason

ZKM / Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Lorenzstraße 19, 76135 Karlsruhe, www.zkm.de

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Frankfurt / Montag, 10. oktober 2011 / 18:00 Uhr

LitCam Conference –

»Literacy and Sustainable Economic Growth«

Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof Am Kaiserplatz

http://www.litcam.de/litcam-konferenzen/konferenz-2011

Eintritt frei

Andri Snær Magnason nimmt teil an der LitCam Podiumsdiskussion zum Thema

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Heidelberg / Dienstag, 11. okt 2011 / 20:00 Uhr

Nacht der isländischen Literatur

Andri Snær Magnason liest mit Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir und Einar Már Gudmundsson

Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Heidelberg
Sofienstraße 12

69115 Heidelberg
www.dai-heidelberg.de

Eintritt: 12.00€, 10.00€ ermässigt, 8.00 € Mitglieder

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Frankfurt / Mittwoch, 12. oktober 2011 / 12:00 – 12:45 Uhr

Buchmesse, Forum Zukunft, Halle 4.0, D1339

Andri Snær Magnason spricht bei der Podiumsdiskussion zum Thema Branchenferne Finanzierung über seine »Bónus. Supermarktgedichte« (auf englisch). Moderation: Maria Zagar

Ein früher Coup von Andri Snær Magnason. Wer in Island war, kennt das rosa Schwein von Bónus, der größten Supermarktkette des Landes. 1996 konnte Andri den Inhaber des Lebensmitteldiscounters von einer verwegenen Idee überzeugen: Gedichte über das Einkaufen als Stapelware in den Märkten selber anzubieten anstatt im Buchhandel – das Bändchen mit dem Sparschwein, das einen sonst von der Einkaufstüte anlachte, erreichte Rekordauflagen. Lyrik für den Alltag – garantiert reimfrei!

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Mainz / Mittwoch / 12. oktober 2011 / 20:00 Uhr

Andri Snær Magnason liest. Traumland, LoveStar, Bonus Gedichte, Die Geschichte aus Die Blauen Planeten.

Walpodenakademie, Neubrunnenstraße 8

55116 Mainz

Eintritt: 8/6€

Veranstalter: Literaturbrüo Mainz e.V., orange-press

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Frankfurt Buchmesse / Donnerstag, 13. oktober 2011 / 15:30 – 16:00 Uhr

Politiker mit Autoren im Dialog: Andrea Nahles spricht mit Andri Snær Magnason

Stand: Vorwärts Verlag

Halle 3.0, B 170

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Frankfurt / Donnerstag, 13. oktober 2011 / 19:30 / Eintritt frei

OPEN BOOKS

Römer 9

Römerberg 9

60311 Frankfurt am Main

Junge isländische Literatur präsentiert von btb, FVA und orange-press: Von Körperwahn und Liebe, arbeitslosen Bankern und der dunklen Seite der Wirtschaft erzählen Gudrún Eva Mínervudóttir, Guðmundur Óskarsson und Andri Snær Magnason. Moderation: Antje Deistler Deutsche Lesestimme: Johannes Kühn (angefragt)

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Frankfurt Buchmesse / Freitag, 14. oktober 2011 / 10:00 Uhr

Leseinsel der unabhängigen Verlage, Halle 4.1., D 128

Andri Snær Magnason und Undine Löhfelm lesen aus
»Traumland« und den »Bónus-Supermarktgedichten«.

Orange-press Stand: 4.1 G 132

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Frankfurt Buchmesse

Samstag, 15. oktober 2011

12:00-13:00 : Orange Press Stand 4.1 G 132

Signierstunde / Booksigning.

Andri Snær Magnason am Stand von orange-press

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15. oktober: 13:30-14:00: Icelandic Pavillion

Lesung mit Andri Snær Magnason »Traumland – Was bleibt, wenn alles verkauft ist? « und »Bónus – Supermarktgedichte«

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15. oktober: 16:00-17:00: Stand: Süddeutsche Zeitung / Halle 3.0, C159

Präsentation von Andri Snær Magnasons »Bónus. Supermarktgedichte« mit Eirikur Norddahl und Thordis Björnsdóttir

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Wiesbaden / Sonntag, 16.10.2011 / 18:00 Uhr

Kulturpalast Wiesbaden, Saalgasse 36

www.kulturpalast-wiesbaden.de

http://hessen-szene.de/zentren/programm.php5?gid=29

Andri Snær Magnason liest aus seinem Buch »Traumland – Was bleibt, wenn alles verkauft ist?«

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Köln - Montag, 17.10.2011 / 19:00 Uhr / Eintritt frei

Skandinavistik/Universität

Neues Seminargebäude, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, Raum 004, Universitätsstraße 35

Andri Snær Magnason liest aus seinem Buch »Traumland – Was bleibt, wenn alles verkauft ist?«

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ERLANGEN Dienstag, 18. oktober 2011 / 20:00 Uhr

Skandinavistik/Universität, Bismarckstraße 1, Haus B

Andri Snær reads from his work. Two short stories by Andri Snær Magnason are published in a new collection of Icelandic short stories from Steidl verlag: Gaben des Himmels.

Andri reading friday – Harbour Front festival Hamburg

andri — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:27:30 +0000

Andri Snær Magnason will be in Germany this weekend – reading at Harbour Front Literary Festival in Hamburg, Friday at 19:30. For more information look here: http://www.harbour-front.org/veranstaltung/magnason

Sounds of Iceland

andri — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:41:53 +0000

Sound recorder Chris Watson came to Iceland record sounds and remember the one year anniversary of the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. Andri Snær Magnason and other Icelanders are interviewed here in this BBC Radio 4 program. BBC introduction is here:

“12 months after Iceland’s ash cloud grounded global air transport, leading sound recordist Chris Watson reveals the secrets of one of Iceland’s more literary but no less famous volcanoes.

A boyhood Jules Verne fan, Chris will retrace the steps of Professor and Axel Lidenbrock from Reykjavik to his favourite place in the world – Snaefellsjokull – the glacier that contains the passage to the Centre of the Earth in Verne’s 1864 seminal work of Science Fiction. Along the way he’ll encounter communities affected by the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull, talking to people who live within this geologically charged environment and meeting artists and musicians who have been inspired by their volcanic landscape.

Tying in with Verne’s theme of geographical exploration, to reach Snaefellsjokull – known to locals simply as Jules Verne’s Volcano – Chris will travel through one of Iceland’s most beautiful National Parks and will use his extraordinary recording techniques to reveal the natural sounds of this unique environment. The sounds of bubbling mud pools and sulphurous springs mirroring Jules Verne’s deep connection to the physical world.

Revealing interviews with leading figures from Iceland’s vibrant arts scene: including the keyboardist of Sigur Ros and best-selling Icelandic author Andri Snaer Magnason will combine with Chris’s recordings as he creates his own sonic adventure in the shadow of Jules Verne’s novel and Iceland’s volcanoes.

Producer: Rose de Larrabeiti
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.”

Andri Magnason with Traumland at the Leipziger Buchmesse – Germany

andri — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:49:35 +0000

Dreamland has been published in Germany by Orange Press. Author Andri Snær Magnason will do readings and screenings from the film in Germany the next week. Starting in the Leipziger Buchmesse, going to Munchen on Monday, then to Berlin on Tuesday.

Auf der Messe:
Lesung | 18.3. | 14:30 – 15 Uhr
Leseinsel der Jungen Verlage | Halle 5, Stand C200

Gespräch | 19.3 | 10:30 – 11 Uhr
Nordisches Forum | Halle 4, Stand D307

In der Stadt:
Einführung & Film | 19.03. | 20 Uhr
GRASSI Museum f. Völkerkunde | Johannisplatz 5-11

Lesung, Film & Diskussion | 19.3. | 22- 24 Uhr
Horns Erben | Arndtstr. 33

Gespräch | 20.3. | 15 – 16 Uhr
ARTE | Glashalle, Stand 11

weitere Infos unter: www.leipziger-buchmesse.de

Andri Snær Magnason interview on BBC Radio 4

andri — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:57:59 +0000

Here you can listen to an interview with Andri Magnason on BBC Radio 4, sunday the 10th of the 10th of 10. Andri is somewhere after half an hour of the program. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00v6dmf/Broadcasting_House_10_10_2010/

The Hungarian Aluminum disaster has brought the impact of the global aluminum industry into the light of the international media. In Dreamland I write about some of those issues. In the film Dreamland you can see that many of the most pristine areas in Iceland have been marketed as potential energy for the aluminum industry. Chris Bayliss, the spokesperson of the International Aluminum Institute responds to the comments in my interview. One of the terms he uses regarding the aluminum industry in Iceland is the term “Stranded energy”. If you come to Iceland you can see roaring waterfalls, walk around the untouched geothermal areas in the highlands or look at the largest nesting place of pink footed geese in the world. All those areas are called “stranded energy”, or “still untapped recourses” by the aluminum industry. You might call it nature.

Chris also talks about ethics and strip mining in West Africa, Brazil and other places in the world as “development through the efforts of the aluminum companies”. That is one of the issues in my book – Dreamland. I wonder if it really brings in real development or only addiction, corruption and then an economic recession when the resource has been mined.

It seems like the “resource curse” can be quite well applied to bauxite and the smelting addiction of Iceland. While I was writing Dreamland I talked to a lot of people. So I have known the background and people involved in some of the struggles. Very recently the Adivasi people of Orissa in India won a huge victory when they managed to prevent the strip mining of their holy mountain for bauxite.

The Aluminum Disaster in Hungary is not an isolated issue. People in Jamaica, Vietnam, Brazil and many more areas have had great problems because of this industry and the history in Australia is not nice either. For more information – Dreamland, the book and documentary are available and a new book by Samarendra Das is very interesting: Out of this Earth: East India Adivasis and the Aluminum Cartel.

Jamaica:

Vietnam:

And Guinea West Africa talking about development: