First Ladies Eliza Reid of Iceland and Dr. Jenni Haukio of Finland, both authors, along with bestselling English writer and illustrator Neil Gaiman acting as moderator, engaged us in rousing conversations a few weeks back on how reading and literature rest in the heart of Nordic societies.
The seventh floor of the New York Public Library’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library division burst with lively exchanges as the audience learned a thing or two from their rich traditions and best practices.
Iceland’s First Lady said that books are the most popular Christmas gifts in her country because tradition has it that on Christmas Eve everyone – from children to the elderly – reads a book. It is not that family members hold a book and read while partaking of a festive meal but I visualize this as a settling down scene post revelry.
Dr. Haukio, who designed the Tiny Stories project “What I want for every child” for UNICEF that brought together more than 300 authors, poets and novelists from around the world, edited a Finnish poetry anthology to honor her country’s 100 years of independence. She spoke about the universality of literature, where “there is only you and me, a human soul and a human soul.” For her, understanding literature “can build international relations.
Poets and writers “eke out a living” from their natural surroundings. The government offers numerous subsidies and grants to encourage more writers. I was particularly intrigued that in Iceland there are more statues for writers than politicians and they have a museum dedicated to writers. There is little that could be done about the deterioration of our bilateral relationship with China – unless the aspiring Asian superpower abandons its outlandish territorial claims over the entire South China...
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