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On the Fly By Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir Photo by Geir Ólafsson The Makings of a Dream Accomplished author, poet and playwright Andri Snaer Magnason is Icelandic nature’s most outspoken advocate. Born in 1973, Andri Snaer Magnason comes from a family of doctors and nurses. When asked why he chose a different career path instead of following the family tradition, he replies: “My big sister is a brain surgeon. It was hard to top that. I read a lot of poetry in high school and wanted to do something creative.” Magnason’s first book, a collection of poetry, was published in 1995. He continued with poetry for a while, moved on to short stories and then published a children’s book in 1999. The Story of the Blue Planet became the first children’s book to receive the Icelandic Literature Prize. It has since been published in many different countries, most recently in China and Lithuania. He changed course again and in 2002 his sci-fi novel LoveStar, which has also been published in German, was named Book of the Year by Icelandic booksellers. “My goal has always been to betray my audience,” Magnason grins. “After becoming a successful poet I wrote a children’s book and then a sci-fi novel which children couldn’t understand. Then I turned to non-fiction.” Yet there is a red thread connecting all of his books. “I play with big ideas,” the author explains. Published in 2006, Dreamland – A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation, also a winner of the Icelandic Literature Prize, has appeared in English and many other languages. A release in Germany, where Dreamland received the respected Kairos award earlier this year, is impending. A documentary with the same name, co-directed by Magnason, was named Best Documentary of 2009 at the Eddas, the Icelandic Film and Television Awards. In Dreamland, Magnason discusses energy harnessing for aluminum smelting in Iceland. “I was lucky to get to travel in the highlands a lot as a child and learned to respect the landscape and the land that we own. It struck me when I found out that the government had promoted many of the most beautiful and sensitive places as some sort of mines for the aluminum industry.” He fought against the dam at Kárahnjúkar in the eastern highlands, which was constructed to power the mammoth Alcoa aluminum smelter in Reydarfjördur, something Magnason describes as a scandal. Magnason believes that it is contradictory to promote aluminum production in Iceland as “clean” when the initial stage of the process, bauxite mining, is an environmental hazard as the recent eco-disaster in Hungary shows. Now two new smelters are planned, in the southwest and northeast, both of which would have to rely largely on geothermal energy. These controversial plans have been harshly criticized by Magnason. “Those who support these projects are as mad as the people who ruined the economy,” he says. “It is completely unknown whether the high temperature geothermal areas can power smelters and whether they can be harnessed at such a speed for such a long time. After a few years we could have overused the energy for future generations.” Statements like these have prompted supporters of smelters to declare that Magnason is against progress. “Progress is not to repeat 50-year-old ideas again and again until they cannot be executed any longer. This would be a huge regression for Iceland,” Magnason responds, adding that the smelter in Reydarfjördur—which was supposed to be progressive—has failed. “It has not saved the local economy, people are still moving away from there,” he says. Magnason is now working on a new children’s book and a new documentary—a large project which remains a secret for the time being. As to whether he sees something positive emerging from the crisis, he says, “Society wasn’t pretty the way it was heading.” The crisis brought it to a halt and a certain re-evaluation has taken place. “It would be good to review the energy policy,” he says, mentioning the upcoming Constitutional Assembly which will rewrite the Constitution. “There are many good people running for the Constitutional Assembly who can do positive things. This is an opportunity to add a clause on sustainability.” An opportunity to create Magnason’s dreamland, perhaps? a 10 atlantica
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