Viking Magazine - June 2022 - 26

Prize Winner Geraldine Brooks. Now an annual spring
event, Reid and Green have expanded the program with
a concurrent Iceland Readers Retreat.
ENTERING THE INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
But it was in early 2016 that Reid's life began to pivot
in a way that would make her a national figure at
home and bring her into
international diplomatic
spheres. With the country
in turmoil over revelations
that Iceland's then-Prime
Minister was implicated
in the Panama Papers,
Jóhannesson was often
called on by Iceland media
to comment and provide
historical context on the
matter. He had written
extensively on Iceland's
recent financial history in
the 2008 global financial
crash and the history of
the country's political
system.
Apparently,
Jóhannesson's
nonpartisan, factual
explanations hit a
chord with many in
Iceland. Soon the ReidJóhannesson
home
phone began to ring with
pleas for him to run for president. Jóhannesson joined
the race and won. He became the country's youngest
President-he was 48 in 2016-making Reid the
For the Love of
Literature
There's an Icelandic saying that " everyone walks around with a
book in their belly. " It refers to the fact that writing is a cultural
norm in this country of avid readers and prolific writers. Reykjavík
is a UNESCO City of Literature, and one in 10 Icelanders will be
published in their lifetime. It's also the place that has the annual
Jólabókaflóðið, the Yule book flood beginning mid-October, when
Icelandic publishers release catalogues of new and up-coming
releases and Icelanders give books to one another.
country's de facto First Lady. She typed into Google:
How to curtsey.
Apart from moving into the Presidential residence,
Bessastaðir, and sometimes accompanying Jóhannesson
on his presidential appointments-or on her own First
Lady initiatives when time, location, work and family
life allowed-Reid carried on with her career and the
Iceland Writers Retreat.
As she states in both her
TED Talk and her New
York Times Op-Ed, " Why
should I get a new job
because my husband was
elected to one? " After all,
the position of First Lady
is a title, but not a paid
role or occupation.
A CREATIVE SPARK
In early 2020, with the
in-person Iceland Writers
Retreat cancelled due to
COVID-19, and with the
responsibilities of being
a First Lady drastically
curtailed, Reid suddenly
had time to put a creative
impulse together that had
been brewing.
" I'd be walking my kids
to and from school, and
that's when the idea for
the book came. It sprung
from the fact that I knew-and we here in Iceland know
and are very proud of the fact-that Iceland consistently
is considered 'the best country in the world to be a
woman.' " For a dozen years, the nation of 366,000 has
topped the World Economic Forum's list of countries
closest to achieving gender equality. " But it's not a fact
that is widely known in the wider world. "
As an example, Reid talks about how " everyone " in
Iceland knows that the country was the first to elect
a female president. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, a teacher
who was the artistic director of the Reykjavík Theatre
Company prior to politics, presided from 1980 to 1996.
And this sprakki-a Norse term for extraordinary or
outstanding woman-was very much in the news in
2020 as she turned 90.
" But very few people outside of Iceland know
about Vigdís, " says Reid. " I just thought it would be
interesting, as well as a good professional challenge, to
26
June 2022
sonsofnorway.com
PHOTO BY BALDUR KRISTJÁNS
http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - June 2022

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