Podcast 4: Readings from the library
Posted: 18 July 2011
Each summer in the coastal Icelandic town of Stykkisholmúr, different writers take up residency in Roni Horn’s Vatnasafn/Library of Water. To mark the arrival of this year’s writer Julie Ault, Artangel asked each of her predecessors to record a reading of their choice in a week-long series of short podcasts.
1. Anne Carson
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The first reading is Anne Carson’s poem Cage a Swallow Can’t You But You Can’t Swallow a Cage, written with Bob Currie during their residency, in honour of Roni Horn.
Music: Sigur Rós member Kjartan Sveinsson composed a musical response to the poem, which was performed at the Church of St Paul the Apostle in New York last year, by The Hilliard Ensemble. A clip from this performance, courtesy of Q2, introduces the piece.
Additional performers: Michael Clemow and Penelope Thomas
2. Oddný Eir Aevarsdóttir
Click to download [Icelandic]
Click to download [English]
Oddný Eir Aevarsdóttir reads from a journal entry written during her stay. She recorded the piece in both Icelandic and English.
3. Thordis Bjornsdottir
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Thordis Bjornsdottir reads Into the Night, a short story.
4. Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir
Click to download [Icelandic]
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Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir reads from her novel The Creator.
5. Rebecca Solnit
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Rebecca Solnit reads her essay The Blue of Distance.
6. Óskar Árni Óskarsson
Click to download [Icelandic]
Óskar Árni Óskarsson reads from the book, Þrjár hendur (Three hands), that he wrote at the library.
Producer: Iain Chambers.
Icelandic field recordings courtesy of Ulfur Hansson and Arnþór Helgason.