First Lady

Eliza Reid (left), who I first heard of from the Iceland Writers Workshop, was in town at The ASI yesterday, giving a talk on Secrets of the Sprakkar, her new book, (subtitled “Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World”.)

Eliza’s book discusses Sprakkar, an ancient Icelandic word meaning extraordinary or outstanding women, looking at Iceland as a whole and focusing on several individuals.

As I listened to her speak, I realized that her book's subtitle has been a major theme of my life over the last twenty+ years. There are dozens of Icelandic women who have influenced me: directly, indirectly, even at a personal level. It may have started with Björk, but has grown far beyond that.

Eliza’s talk was humorous and  informative, going into many of the quirks and features (both good and bad) of Modern Iceland and its people. She did bring up “pool culture” as the great equalizer; my many hours in the “hot pots” can confirm that.

One unique aspect of Eliza’s life is the fact that she happens to be married to the President of Iceland! She did have some stories about that as well as showing several scenes from her life as “first lady”, a non-official position but one that she enjoys, with some misgivings. Her New York Times opinion piece lays out those paradoxes in some detail.

Here’s the story of her serendipitous rise to prominence:



And here is another version of the lecture: