Schemers and Viga-Glúm

Schemers and Viga-Glúm
Author:
Publisher: The Porcupine's Quill
Total Pages: 204
Release: 1999
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780889841895

George Johnston, renowned for his fine translations of Old Icelandic tales such as The Saga of Gisli and Thrand of Gotu, takes a look at two orally-preserved stories from the middle of the ninth to the eleventh century. The first, `The Saga of the Schemers', is unique in that the work is wholly imaginative and its mood is comic whereas most are weighted on the side of passion and tragedy. The second, `The Saga of Viga-Glum', leans more traditionally on the story of a known Icelandic chieftain of the tenth century. Yet it cannot be read as history; fictional and folktale motifs have been worked into reports of actual events, and supernatural elements, belonging to pagan mythology and worship, have held their place in the telling. This is an accurate and thoughtful translation executed by a master.

The Story of Viga-Glum

The Story of Viga-Glum
Author: Sir Edmund Head
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2020-09-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1465578048

Shut Up He Explained

Shut Up He Explained
Author: John Metcalf
Publisher: Biblioasis
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2007-09-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1897231741

John Metcalf's Shut Up He Explained defies expectations and strict definition. Part memoir, part travelogue, part criticism -- wholly Metcalf -- it is thoughtful, engaged, contentious and often very funny. It offers a full does of Metcalfian wisdom and wit, and provides ample evidence that neither age nor indifference nor attack have withered him: he remains as sharp, critical, constructive and insightful as ever. Indeed, this may just be his most important and engaged book. Certainly it will be among his most controversial. What his critics will refuse to see, of course, is that it is also among his most positive, that it is a celebration of the best literature Canada has to offer, the birth of which Metcalf himself both witnesses and actively encouraged. Shut Up He Explained is magisterial, a virtuoso performance melding several seemingly different strands into one coherent narrative, which should delight and entertain as it serves to argue, elucidate and celebrate.

THE SAGA OF VIGA GLUM - A Norse and Viking Saga

THE SAGA OF VIGA GLUM - A Norse and Viking Saga
Author: Anon E. Mouse
Publisher: Abela Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2018-10-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 882754142X

The Sagas, of which this tale is one, were composed for the men who have left their mark in every corner of Europe. There is no page of modern history in which the influence of the Vikings and their conquests have not had an effect -- Russia, Turkey, Greece, Palestine, Sicily, the coasts of Africa, Southern Italy, France, the Spanish Peninsula, England, Scotland, Ireland, and every rock and island round them, have been visited at one time or another by the men of Scandinavia, and their influence is still being felt today. This saga paints a picture of Icelandic society. But the society presented is not one of pastoral simplicity and repose. The actors within were real men and women and the events portrayed actually occurred - for this is a true story. Bloodshed and violence are common and Viga-Glum, or "Murdering Glum," the hero of this story, is not by any means a perfect character, even when measured by the standards of the time in which he lived. A time when a man’s standing in the community was dictated by courage and his wealth, the author tells us that for twenty years he was the first man in Eyjafirth, and for twenty years more there was no better man there. Viga-Glum is described as one who was naturally indolent, shy, and moody; but when he could be brought to act, his courage and determination were indomitable. When he had to achieve a purpose he was thoroughly unscrupulous; neither blood nor false oaths stood in his way - just what one would expect from a Viking. The finishing touch to this part of his character is added by the peculiarity, that whenever he was intent on slaying a man, he was apt to be seized with a fit of uncontrollable laughter which ended in tears. So join us in this ancient tale of love, lust, honour, murder, Beserkers, romance and damsels in distress. YESTERDAY'S BOOKS FOR TODAY'S CHARITIES 10% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charities. ================ KEYWORDS/TAGS: Viking, Norse, Saga, Action, Adventure, Iceland, Norway, Viga Glum, Bloodshed, violence, Murdering Glum, courage, wealth, Eyjafirth, indolent, shy, moody, champion, determination, beserker, romance, damsel in distress, rescue, knight in shining armor

Inward of Poetry

Inward of Poetry
Author: George Johnston
Publisher: The Porcupine's Quill
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1123211922

Inward of Poetry presents fifty years of thoughtful and, by turns, chatty letters between poet George Johnston and his good friend and frequent editor, the scholar William Blissett. Edited by former student Sean Kane, this lively collection includes several hitherto unpublished Johnston poems and reveals the development and creative necessities of one of Canada’s revered poets and translators.

An Aesthetic Underground

An Aesthetic Underground
Author: John Metcalf
Publisher: Biblioasis
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2014-10-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1927428963

"John Metcalf has written some of the very best stories ever published in this country."—Alice Munro The Argus-eyed editor; the magisterial prose stylist; the waggish, inflammatory cultural critic; the mentor and iconoclast. John Metcalf is a literary legend whose memoir maps the underground he labored tirelessly to establish.