Christian Matras: Faroese Poet

While still little known to English language appreciators of Faroese literature, Christian Matras may be our most accessible Faroese poet, thanks to the efforts of Canadian poet and translator, George Johnston. English translations of Faroese poetry remain few, so discovering, say, one forty-five page work by a writer who has published extensively in the Faroese language is kind of like striking a gold mine.

Christian Matras's poetry was influenced, much like other Faroese writers, by J.H.O. "Janus" Djurhuus, the poet often credited with modernizing and breaking Faroese poetry away from the strictly traditional folk legends and songs. Matras, like Djurhuus, became increasingly influenced by continental philosophy and poetry after studying in Copenhagen. Universal themes would increasingly be explored, but the pastoral island life, the folk legends and the land and sea would never be forgotten. Bridging traditional forms, such as the influential Thomas Kingo's hymns turned twentieth century Faroese folk melodies, with moderns themes, Matras's poetry was somewhat lighter than the 'troll-darkness' that underscored so much of Djurhuus's work. In Djurhuus, darkness often overpowered light, but in the next generation of authors and poets, such as Matras and Heinesen, an earnest appreciation for the landscape and Faroese life, despite the long, dark winters, were guiding themes. In one poem about the island of Matras's birthplace, ''Viðoy'' leaves port in the fog, with the tall cliff, Enniberg, breaking waves at the bow, the island's mountains as its sails and masts, and the sheep and islanders as its cargo.

Unlike a few of his contemporaries, Matras chose to write in the Faroese language, promoting the language even if it meant obscurity on the international scene. But his obscurity did not last long, well, maybe not entirely. By the seventies, the poet and translator George Johnston, well known for his translations of the Icelandic Sagas and other Nordic literature, began collaborating with Matras on English translations of his poetry. By the early eighties, Johnston translated a collection of Faroese poetry, called 'Rocky Shores', that included writers such as Matras, Heinesen, and Karsten Hoydal. Seven years later, Johnston translated a collection of Matras's short poetry; the only such publication of Faroese poetry available to English-language readers today.

Matras's contributions to Faroese culture and arts go beyond his poetry. In the early twenties, Matras published the first modern Faroese-Danish dictionary in collaboration with M.A. Jacobsen. Matras was also a highly regarded translator, and helped repatriate Danish language works by Faroese authors, such as William Heinesen and Jørgen Frantz Jacobsen, to the Faroese language. Translations of Voltaire and Jonathan Swift, among others, helped expand the accessibility of continental works for Faroese readers, just as Djurhuus did for Dante and Homer in the decades before.

• 'So Deep, So Deep' and 'The Company of the Blind', were published in an August 1970 issue of Poetry Magazine, and are available online at the poetryfoundation.org. 
• A selection of Matras's poems, such as 'So, Deep, So Deep', 'Viðoy', and 'the Milkmaids' were included in a collection of Faroese poetry, 'Rocky Shores', collected and translated in 1981 by George Johnston. This collection is not in publication any more, so check the stacks at your public and university libraries.
• 'Seeing and Remembering: Strophes', translated by George Johnston, is published by Penumbra Press in 1988 and is still available on their website.
• Matras's poems have also been put to music by Agnar Ellebye on the album ''Páll fangi og bygd og hav''. The song ''Ein løta við brian og agnar'' is available for download on amazon and musicme. The complete album is available from tutl, the Faroese music store.

Faroese Literature

On my trip to the Faroe Islands in 2013, I had the joy of visiting Heðin Brú's home town of Skálavík, on the island of Sandoy. The bus driver on the route between Dalur and Sandur discussed Faroese politics and literature with me, and was pleased to mention that he was a descendant of the great Faroese poet, J.H.O Djurhuus. Many Faroese have the privilage of such a lineage. The population of the islands is under 50,000 and many Faroese are authors, poets, musicians or artists.

While the bookshelves are teaming with recent Faroese publications and translations of foreign works, finding some of the great classic works, such as those from J.H.O Djurhuus, is difficult; most are long out of publication, and a few may be long forgotten. Some of the classics can be found on abebooks and ebay, but these choices are often costly. A collection of Djurhuus's poems retailed for over 100 CAD, including shipping; not a bad price for a serious collector, but far out of range for the average student seeking to explore Faroese poetry. Current Faroese publications, often from the Faroe's largest publisher, Sprotin, are still moderately expensive when compared to books available on this side of the Atlantic.

During my 2013 trip to the Faroe Islands, I was fortunate enough to find a recently published, beautiful, hardback edition of Heðin Brú's Stuttsøgur (short stories) from Rit og Rak in Tórshavn. At about 50 CAD (and weighing a hefty 1.5 kilograms), the price was worth it, and I didn't mind carrying the weight as I hiked from bygd to bygd. I also found the Faroese language Fedgar á Ferð (The Old Man and His Sons) in both paperback and compact disc, only to later discover that both were available online as an e-book and downloadable mp3 for much cheaper.

Sprotin's e-books are often more than half the price of their printed versions. Pól F's collection of poetry, Heilsan Pól F., for example, retails at 249 DKK (about 50 CAD) for the printed version, while the e-book retails for 129 DKK (25 CAD). Join the bookclub and save an additional 20 percent on Sprotin's electronic and printed publications.

Translators of Faroese Literature

Farlit has been promoting Faroese literature on the international stage since 2011. And since 2014, they have been coordinating grants for publishers interested in translating selected Faroese works into Nordic languages. Numerous translations of Faroese works into Nordic languages are available, however, translations into English are still underrepresented.

What follows is a list of translators that have translated Faroese literature into English. This list will continue to expand as translators come to my attention, and as Faroese literature continues to be promoted and new and inspired writers take on the task of translation:

• Heðin Bronn translated a collection of Faroese short stories, which included works from the Faroese language by Heðin Brú and Karstyn Hoydal, and from the Danish language by William Heinesen. This was the first anthology of short Faroese literature.
• George Johnston is perhaps one of the greatest translators of Faroese literature into the English. He translated the anthology of Faroese Poetry, "Rocky Shores", which included poetry from Christian Matras, William Heinesen (from Danish), and Karstyn Hoydal, among others. This is the only anthology of Faroese poetry available. Johnston translated a small collection of Christian Matras short poems in a bilingual edition titled "Seeing and Remembering", the only bilingual poem collection available. Johnston also translated Jørgan Frantz Jacobsen's Barbara. 
• Glyn Jones has translated works by William Heinesen.
• Matthew Landrum has recently translated short stories by Sólrún Michelsen and poetry by Agnar Artúvertin. His poems have also been translated into Faroese.
• Annfinnur í Skála is the author of both the Faroese-English and English-Faroese dictionaries. 
• Reginald Spink, best known for translating Hans Christian Andersen, translated a small pamphlet with a short essay by Jørgan Frantz Jacobsen and a brief description of the Faroe Islands for travellers (1965).
• Marjun Stewart translated "Under Southern Stars" by Gunnar Hoydal. 
• Marita Thomsen has recently translated two children's books by Bárður Oskarsson.
• Randi Ward has recently translated Faroese poems for "Words Without Borders", a magazine celebrating and promoting international literature. Translations include works by both established and emerging poets.
• John F. West is best known for his translation of Heðin Brú's "The Old Man and His Sons". This is the only Faroese language novel set in the Faroe Islands that we have available today. 
• Vencil, the Faroese literary magazine, published a special English-language edition in 2011. Numerous translators are likely to be present (hopefully I can get my hands on a copy!)

I look forward to seeing the emergence of contemporary translators such as Matthew Landrum, Marita Thomsen, Marjun Stewart and Randi Ward. These translators will bring English speaking readers a little bit closer to the current Faroese literary scene.

Maps

Readers interested in the Faroese landscape and cartography can view maps of the Faroe Islands through the Danish Geodata Agency. A section of the map is viewed in a tiny window, so you can't get the complete breadth and variation of the landscape. but you can get a little idea of what to expect from the 'Atlas', at a scale of 1:100,000.

Paper maps are available directly from the Faroes. Solberg has a complete collection of maps that are still in circulation, including fine scale (1:20,000) topographic maps from the Danish cartogropher, Kort & Matrikelstyresen. These maps, published in the late 80's, are great for hiking, or armchair travelling.

If you are interested in ordering maps, look out for falsað and slætt, which are the folded or rolled (sheet) versions of each map. Map coverage of an entire island can be purchased in bundles too, for a discounted price.

Faroese-English Dictionary (Orðabók)

The online, searchable Faroese-English and English-Faroese dictionaries are now accessible for free at Sprotin. Sprotin discontinued publishing the Føroysk-Ensk/English-Faroese dictionaries and previously offered a subscription service to access an online version of them, making ongoing study of the Faroese language costly. Now, with over 140,000 entries combined, studying Faroese has never been easier. The searchable dictionary does not recognize the inflections of nouns and verbs, so some understanding of Faroese grammar is still required. Twelve other dictionaries are also available for students who speak German, Danish, Spanish, and a dictionary for translating Russian into Faroese.

Manor: Vampires and the Faroe Islands

The great Faroe Islands Podcast has turned me onto a German short story set in the Faroe Islands. The German author, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, who, despite never visiting the islands, manages the distinct Faroese landscape fairly well. "Manor" begins by describing the precarious position of the distant Faroe Islands with its unforgiving landscape, before a grim scene unfolds and dead bodies wash ashore.

Written over 130 years ago, the short story brings vampires and themes of homosexuality to the jagged shores of Vagar - quite ahead for a story of its time, calling some in the Faroese LGBT community to consider Ulrichs as a pioneer for gay rights.

There's much more to the story - and behind the story, including how the story resurfaced. The story of the story can be found at the Faroe Islands Podcast. Manor has been recently translated into Faroese by Birgir Kruse and Eiler Fagraklett and is available for sale at H N Jacobsens. Read the English translation of the short story for free, too.

Two Years of Learning Faroese

Faroese is something of a niche to students of language. Few people come by here. Some come to put an honest effort to learn Faroese, others come by to find a phrasebook or a dictionary, and maybe some come by just to read and connect with another appreciator of Faroese...

The Faroe Islands have received some attention in the press, often as a destination for travellers in awe of the beautiful and remote landscape with its turf-roofed houses. Others are connoisseurs of new-nordic cuisine, which is gaining ground in the capital. Many find a common interest in the burgeoning music scene, not to mention the G-festival; others still, the small but strong art scene that flourishes on a wee island out in the sea. Fewer still, come to appreciate Faroese literature, which is kind of what this blog has become about.

The Faroe Islands have never had mass appeal, and to be honest, that's not really a bad thing. It's probably what attract a lot of us to it. Not necessarily to say, ''we know something you don't know'', but to find something that isn't so easy, something that requires a little skill and ingenuity, and somewhere that requires patience and adventure.

Thankfully, we have great blogs and podcasts such as the Faroe Islands Podcast to promote it just enough to bring the Faroes to a truly appreciating audience. Without these podcasts and blogs, I may have driven myself a bit mad, as I patiently awaited my first arrival to the Faroe Islands. I listened to the sounds, the music, the news and, well, everything that was available. Most days, I still hear Workman's voice and cadence of speech, along with his collection of sounds, as I continue to explore Faroese life and landscape. My collection of Faroese maps have kept me in check too, even leading me astray most nights at home, despite their intended purpose of keeping me found. The maps have never ceased being a great source of inspiration for me; someone a little too obsessed with the landscape.

Since the beginning, Learning Faroese has become more than just an appreciation of the Faroese language. It has evolved into an appreciation of the Faroese landscape and weather, and especially of Faroese literature. As I spend my nights reading "The Faroe Islands: Interpretations in History", I'm fairly certain the breadth of this appreciation will only increase to include Faroese history, culture, politics and religion, as they helped define the Faroes and the distinct Faroese literature. And as I sit here, pondering the contents of my bookshelf, there appears to be much more to explore. The burgeoning collection of literature, booklets, maps and guides is enough to draw from. . . for now. And I look forward to the next few years, and hopefully a few visits to the islands, to help this appreciation grow.

Thank you Faroe!