Nils Rune Utsi is a Sami rapper from Maze, a village not far from Alta in Northern Norway. There was a recent spotlight on him from the BBC, complete with rap music.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Sami rapper Nils Rune Utsi
One of the things I find most interesting about doing public readings on anything to do with Scandinavia and the Sami (most recently during my promotion of With the Lapps in the High Mountains) is coming in contact with people's yearning for the Nordic countries based on family lineage, travel, and reading. In addition, people sometimes come up and tell me that they have always dreamed about visiting Lapland or are interested in Shamanism. There's a romantic aspect to the many questions about drumming, otherworldly journeys, and especially joiking. My interest in the Sami tends to be a little more cultural/historical and political, but I also love joiking, both historic joiking and more contemporary adaptations. Here's an example of how the Sami language continues as a living tongue through the medium of rap.
Nils Rune Utsi is a Sami rapper from Maze, a village not far from Alta in Northern Norway. There was a recent spotlight on him from the BBC, complete with rap music.
Nils Rune Utsi is a Sami rapper from Maze, a village not far from Alta in Northern Norway. There was a recent spotlight on him from the BBC, complete with rap music.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Readers write about With the Lapps in the High Mountains
When a book is a hundred years old, translated from Danish, and published by a university press, you can't count on finding your readers, much less wowing them. I do hope that Emilie Demant Hatt's narrative about the Sami in 1907-8 finds an academic audience, of course. She is an early example of a collaborative ethnographer and participant-observer who paid special attention to the lives of women and children, which surely makes her unique in the annals of early anthropology.
But I'm happy to report that during my readings the last month I've noticed readers falling for Demant Hatt's lively writing and sense of humor. Here are a few comments that people were kind enough to send me:
I just finished the book and wanted to tell you how much I
enjoyed it! Emilie Demant Hatt’s writing, as translated and edited by
you, was very engaging…I really felt like I was there with her every step of
the way on those arduous treks. I had begun to get an idea of Sami life
from Palace of the Snow Queen, but this book greatly increased my
understanding and respect for a truly remarkable people.
ƺ
I finished With the Lapps in the High Mountains and
absolutely loved it. No wonder you were so taken with her story. And your
translation is so fresh and flows beautifully. I really could not put it down
and found every little bit of her observations of Sami life fascinating. She
comes across as such a good sport and never whines--I loved her understated
mention of hardships.
ƺ
I am enchanted with your book With the Lapps. It is
mesmerizing.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Readings this weekend for With the Lapps in the High Mountains
With the Lapps had a lovely launch at the Nordic Heritage Museum May 21 in Seattle. The crowd responded to Emilie Demant Hatt's writing in the best possible way, by laughing at times and leaning forward at other times, caught up in her adventure driving a reindeer in hard, snowy conditions. It was a great honor and pleasure to be able to introduce this remarkable woman to English speakers. I also showed some slides of Emilie's photographs and artwork. Again, I was thrilled to see how the audience responded to her as an artist, as well as a writer and ethnographer.
This weekend I'm lucky enough to have the pleasure again of talking about Emilie. I'll be reading tomorrow night at the always effervescent Swedish Club in Seattle. Somehow, I just love that place, and the view from the dining room, where the event takes place, is spectacular.
On Saturday, June 1, I'll be at Elliott Bay Books, also in Seattle, and one of my favorite bookstores in the world. That's in the afternoon.
Information for both readings, and for a couple of upcoming readings around Puget Sound, are in the post below. Hope to see you there!
This weekend I'm lucky enough to have the pleasure again of talking about Emilie. I'll be reading tomorrow night at the always effervescent Swedish Club in Seattle. Somehow, I just love that place, and the view from the dining room, where the event takes place, is spectacular.
On Saturday, June 1, I'll be at Elliott Bay Books, also in Seattle, and one of my favorite bookstores in the world. That's in the afternoon.
Information for both readings, and for a couple of upcoming readings around Puget Sound, are in the post below. Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
With the Lapps Event Schedule around Puget Sound
Today is the official publication day for With the Lapps in the High Mountains by Emilie Demant Hatt, published by the University of Wisconsin Press. I'm thrilled to see this fantastic book finally available to an English-reading audience.
I'm heading off to San Francisco tomorrow for the Scandinavian Studies conference, where I'll present a paper on her: "My Nomad Year": From Tourist to Participant-Observer--Emilie Demant Hatt Among the Sami 1907-8.
Below is the schedule for readings from the book in the Puget Sound area. I'm especially looking forward to the launch May 21 at the Nordic Heritage Museum. If you live nearby, please join me in celebrating With the Lapps!
I'm heading off to San Francisco tomorrow for the Scandinavian Studies conference, where I'll present a paper on her: "My Nomad Year": From Tourist to Participant-Observer--Emilie Demant Hatt Among the Sami 1907-8.
Below is the schedule for readings from the book in the Puget Sound area. I'm especially looking forward to the launch May 21 at the Nordic Heritage Museum. If you live nearby, please join me in celebrating With the Lapps!
Seattle
Book Launch
Nordic
Heritage Museum
Tuesday,
May 21, 7 pm
3014 NW 67th Street
Seattle, WA 98117
206-789-5707
Swedish
Cultural Center
Friday,
May 31, 7 pm
1920
Dexter Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109
Seattle, WA 98109
(206)
283-1090
Elliott
Bay Book Company
Saturday,
June 1, 2 pm
1521
Tenth Avenue
Seattle WA 98122
Seattle WA 98122
(206)
624-6600
Village
Books
Thursday,
June 13, 7 pm
1200
11th Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 671-2626
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 671-2626
The
Writers’ Workshoppe
Wednesday,
June 26, 7 pm
234
Taylor St.
Port
Townsend, WA 98368
360-379-2617
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Stockholm Neon
I have a weakness for Stockholm's old and new neon signs. Here are two, observed on recent strolls.
This is a storied theater on Drottninggatan. It was designed by Erik Gunnar Asplund and originally opened in the 1920s.
From the 1970s is Kulturhuset at Sergels Torg, a center for performance and culture.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Matador
Although "Matador" evokes something other than a wildly popular mini-series about Denmark's history 1929-1947, the name is the equivalent of Monopoly in English. When I first arrived in Copenhagen a friend suggested I watch some episodes as a way of improving my ear for Danish. Her collection of "Matador" DVDs had options for subtitles in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish--I chose the Danish. This gave me the opportunity to both read and listen. It was far better than anything else I could have done to get better Danish pronunciation into my head.
In the end I watched all 24 episodes over a two-week period. "Matador" was originally shown on Danish TV beginning in the 1970s, but it has been shown repeatedly over the decades to huge audiences in Denmark and elsewhere in the world. It was created by Lise Nørgaard, and included performances by many of Denmark's best known actors. The many story lines, involving several families in a small town, were expertly crafted to give the sense of changing times, for workers, women, and the bourgeois families who saw their power eroding. It was funny, heart-wrenching, and often tremendously exciting storytelling.
Not only did I get more of a feel for Danish history, but I found that everyone I knew in Denmark was very familiar with the series (and friends in Sweden too), so that made for another connection with this culture.
In the end I watched all 24 episodes over a two-week period. "Matador" was originally shown on Danish TV beginning in the 1970s, but it has been shown repeatedly over the decades to huge audiences in Denmark and elsewhere in the world. It was created by Lise Nørgaard, and included performances by many of Denmark's best known actors. The many story lines, involving several families in a small town, were expertly crafted to give the sense of changing times, for workers, women, and the bourgeois families who saw their power eroding. It was funny, heart-wrenching, and often tremendously exciting storytelling.
Not only did I get more of a feel for Danish history, but I found that everyone I knew in Denmark was very familiar with the series (and friends in Sweden too), so that made for another connection with this culture.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Scenes from Copenhagen
 |
| A late spring. |
 | ||
| The teachers in Denmark have been locked out of the schools for almost two weeks. |
 |
| Construction on 18 new metro stations. Only 5 years until they open. |
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