Herostories

by Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir, K.B. Thors (Translator)

Herostories reveals tales untold by most history books: the harrowing journeys and vital triumphs of 19th and 20th century midwifery in the vast landscape of Iceland.

Composed from the memoirs and biographies of 100 Icelandic midwives, poet-historian Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir’s found poems illuminate the dangers and valor of birthwork. Forgoing traditional sagas of androcentric conquest, these poems center the adventures of ljósmæður, “mothers of light.” Tómasdóttir leverages epic elements—dashing mountain treks, rivers forded on horseback, unyielding compassion—to challenge how and by whom stories become legend.

The follow-up to Tómasdóttir/Thors’ award-winning, PEN-nominated Stormwarning, Herostories documents the professional achievements of the island’s first women to work outside the home, precursors to today’s midwives who remain central to contemporary Icelandic healthcare.

Beyond archival recognition, the text's formally ambitious poetics render gender-based battles for literacy and education alongside narratives of selfless womanly caretaking, pressurizing the fundamental tensions between feminine self-actualization and the romanticized service of these trailblazing figures.

Genres: Poetry

162 pages, Paperback

Published November 29, 2022

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

The word in Icelandic for “midwife” is “ljósmóðir” (pl. ljósmæður), literally “light-mother.” Beautiful word, right?

In Herostories, Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir transmutes a mid-20th century source called Íslenskar Ljóðmæður (Icelandic Midwives) into poetry. Íslenskar Ljóðmæður is a collection of narratives based on the experiences of various 19th and 20th century midwives in Iceland—it relates their heroic journeys and their live-saving daily work. What Herostories is, then, is a folk history of midwifery in Iceland.

Doing the work of both a poet and a historian, Kristín Svava’s Herostories is a work of documentary poetry, akin to Charles Reznikoff’s Testimonies or Marit Kapla’s Osebol. It’s written in minimalist poetry as stark and beautiful as the Icelandic countryside in which the stories take place.

Filled with wordplay, variance, and repetition, the poetry here reads like something between an encomium and an elegy. Herostories engages with both a poetics of labor, extoling the virtues of early Icelandic midwifery which was the first job that women could legally hold outside of their own household, and a poetics of nature-writing, as the chaos of Icelandic weather only amplifies the tension and danger of the profession.

This is another excellent translation of Icelandic literature from Deep Vellum. Highly recommended. Thanks to Deep Vellum for the review copy.

Check out my full video review for more: https://youtu.be/dRcylT1x_Cs

“she bore the light with her/ safety and warmth/ followed her/ the brightness and the warmth / she was like God’s angel/ when most needed/ friend and guardian/ friends and counselor/ in trouble and plight/ guardian angel/ all predicaments and hopelessness/ were shown the door/ when she was there/ all was good/ when she arrived/ now I have no angst/ since you arrived.”

[Marín Jónsdóttir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ljósmæður og konur eru bestar ❤️ þvílíkur kraftur í þessari ljóðabók, hún fangar fullkomlega hlutverk og eiginleika ljósmæðra, hæðunum og lægðunum sem fylgir barneignum og gefur innsýn inn í hvernig líf ljósmæðra og kvenna var áður fyrr. Stórkostlegur lestur og fallega uppsett bók.

[Geir Sigurðsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flott bók og sérstök. Hvernig efnið er unnið og bókin sett upp er brilliant.

[Hólmfríður Bjarnardóttir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ótrúlega fallegt concept.

[Leah Rachel von Essen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herostories by Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by K.B. Thors, is a novel-in-verse of found poetry, drawn from a history of midwives in Iceland, traversing frigid, brutal climates to help people deliver their babies, both lauded and isolated, both integral to society and outside of it, transgressing the boundaries of gender. It's interesting, and has the Icelandic beside the English as well as an interview and note from the author and translator that is really interesting and enlightening.

[Sölvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uppáhaldsbókin mín í ár

[Bergdis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Svo falleg og áhrifamikil. Mörg ljóð sem sitja í líkama mínum og hjarta.

[Alexandra Diljá Bjargardóttir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frábær ljóðabók og ótrúlega fallega uppsett.

[Gunnella Kaaber · Rating 4 out of 5]

las líka íslenzkar ljósmæður 1-3 mér til mikillar ánægju -

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of poems created from found material, specifically from three books compiling stories and biographical entries of Icelandic midwives, spanning over a hundred years. I love the title Herostories, because these poems both extol and challenge the depictions of these women — women so selfless and unfailing, and whose faith never wavers, whose bravery never falters, whose kind steadfastness never fails to calm, who never lose a mother or baby — except, of course, when they do.

I loved this collection. I appreciated that the Icelandic originals were printed across from the translations — even not knowing any Icelandic, you can still see the repetitions of form that are preserved. And the conversation between poet and translator at the end was also a delight. I am glad that it seems to be more common that the voice and contributions of the translator are recognized in this way.

Another book from Deep Vellum, so that publisher crush is definitely increasing.