Iceland's president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, discusses her life as a theater director and professor of French, her exciting election of 1980, and her view of her role as representative of her country. Also a look at Iceland's thousand years of history, culture, and literature, from the medieval sagas to the novels of Nobel Prize winner Halldor Laxness; a brief account of Iceland's unique geography; a few remarks on the political structure of this small country just below the Arctic Circle in the North Atlantic.
Interview and programming by Dorothy Gilbert, with assistance from Rikisutvarpid, or Iceland Radio. Technical work by Robert Gilfillan of KPFA, and Ostvalder Christianson of Rikisutvarp. Very special thanks to Margaret Ludvigsdottir and Hallgrimur Thorstenson of Radio Iceland. Also to professor John Lindow of the Department of Scandinavian at UC Berkeley, to the Consulate of Iceland in San Francisco; to Inge Black of Orinda; and Oskar Lewe of San Jose. Odin was voiced by Erik Bauersfeld; the Sybil by Eleanor Sully. Ghost stories from Jacqueline Simpson's Icelandic Folk Tales and Legends were read by Erik Bauersfeld, the poem Odin by Gunnar Valdemarsson; the poem Journey To Iceland by W. H. Auden was read by Gale Chugg. Music for voice and longspiel was by Anna Thorhallsdottir from her Folkways Record; also longspiel played by Guthrun Sveinsdottir; a song by Heimar and Jonas of Reykjavik, Iceland. Other music by the Savannah Trio.
This recording has been digitally preserved as part of Pacifica's American Women Making History and Culture: 1963-1982 grant preservation project, and is available for research and reference . Please contact the archives via telephone: 818-506-1077 or email: americanwomen at pacificaradioarchives dot org for information on how to obtain a copy of this program. Thank you.
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