The origins of the Reykjavik International Literary Festival go back to a poetry festival organised by the Nordic House in 1985. The director of the House at the time, Knut Ödegaard, got two Icelandic authors, Thor Vilhjálmsson and Einar Bragi, to work with him.

7 September 2011, at the Nordic House, Reykjavík

Dear festival guests,

The origins of the Reykjavik International Literary Festival go back to a poetry festival organised by the Nordic House in 1985. The director of the House at the time, Knut Ödegaard, got two Icelandic authors, Thor Vilhjálmsson and Einar Bragi, to work with him. Two years later, prose was also incorporated into the festival. New, younger writers fervently joined in to help, and a comprehensive literary festival began to unfold.

Today, the Reykjavik International Literary Festival is being held for the tenth time, this time in commemoration of the very Thor Vilhjálmsson whom I just mentioned.

To us Icelanders, Thor was a great writer and a giant of the mind. In March of this year, having long left an indelible stamp on our culture, he suddenly and unfortunately departed this world. Despite his age, his death came quite unexpectedly, because he had remained full of vitality right to the end and was a constant participant in the nation's cultural life. Losing Thor meant losing one of Iceland's greatest, most beloved writers, a living beacon of culture and the arts.

He was incredibly productive, leaving behind over twenty books which he authored, some of which won respected literature prizes. He was also a productive translator. Thor had an ample supply of all the capabilities required of a good translator: a reliable knowledge of the relevant foreign language, profound insight, and a close feeling for the particular country's culture - not to mention Thor's superb command of Icelandic. Thus he opened windows into other cultural worlds to his fellow Icelanders, especially into countries speaking the Romance languages.

Halldór Guðmundsson, who is taking part in this Festival, wrote upon Thor's death that he had been the heart and soul of the Icelandic celebration of literature. That was no exaggeration. It is therefore with deep reverence that we remember Thor Vilhjálmsson as we embark on this year's International Literary Festival.

In fact, the year of 2011 is a significant one for Icelandic literature. Later this year, Iceland will be Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's biggest and most respected book fair. Iceland is the first Nordic nation to be honoured in this way. Earlier in 2011, Reykjavík was designated a UNESCO City of Literature, and the Icelandic author Gyrðir Elíasson received the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

It was while opening the International Literary Festival four years ago that a former Icelandic Minister of Education, Science and Culture announced the government's decision to request formally that Iceland become Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. While this was certainly a daring decision, demanding substantial financial obligations, Iceland's capacity seemed to be heading for the skies in those days. This undoubtedly contributed to the decision, and Iceland received this coveted honour.

Despite the drastic economic downturn which occurred in the autumn of 2008, with a rapid devaluation of the country's currency, Iceland stuck to its prior decision. During project preparations, supplementary funds were obtained through the sheer diligence and resourcefulness of Halldór Guðmundsson, Director of the "Fabulous Iceland" project, and Rakel Björnsdóttir, its Assistant Manager, who were assisted by their colleagues. Now I feel convinced that Iceland will prove just as worthy of the Guest of Honour role as its predecessors, which were Argentina, China and Turkey. One indication of this is that considerably more Icelandic publications have been translated and published in the German-speaking market on the occasion of the book fair than any of these three much more populous nations succeeded in publishing on the same occasion. Clearly, a country whose population is small, yet brave and inspired, need take no back seat to more populous countries, and may even strive for a front seat.

Our flagship at the book fair will be a new German translation of the renowned Icelandic sagas. This translation can be thought of as a red carpet, serving to lead into the spotlight that will be focused on Iceland's flourishing contemporary literature.

As for the sagas, it was only a few years ago that an admirable, comprehensive English translation appeared. And it will not be long until a fresh, comprehensive translation appears of the sagas in all three of the Scandinavian languages. Saga literature, which the Icelanders wrote down from the 12th to the 14th centuries, continues to awaken interest overseas, encouraging numerous people to learn Icelandic. For decades, a great many foreigners have been pursuing studies of the Icelandic language and literature, with such students becoming some of our best and most productive translators into their mother tongues. They serve as influential ambassadors of this country's literature and deserve our sincere gratitude.

These translation collections are grounds for the Saga Seminar which will be held at the present Literary Festival, while a Publishing Seminar will also take place, at which Icelandic and foreign publishers will discuss the future of books and the purpose of book fairs. Nonetheless, the central focus of this International Literary Festival, as always, is to bring together writers and readers. And as always, extremely interesting authors are attending, who have been making a name for themselves both in their native lands and abroad. We are especially honoured by the participation of Herta Müller, a recipient of the Nobel Prize. I extend a cordial welcome to our foreign visitors as well as their Icelandic colleagues; may you all enjoy this year's Reykjavík International Literary Festival.

All of us here hope for the success of this autumn's Frankfurt Book Fair. Besides the size and strength of the German-language book market, it provides a gateway to markets in other countries. For instance, Iceland's position of honour at this year's Book Fair drew the attention of Amazon to contemporary Icelandic literature, so that now Amazon is planning on publishing at least ten of this country's books in the USA, offering both paper and e-versions. For my part, I feel sure that our presence in Frankfurt will lead to even greater advances of Icelandic literature in the global market, and will give a boost to Icelandic writers in general, encouraging them to even greater feats. Reykjavík's International Literary Festival and the capital's designation as a UNESCO City of Literature will also be influential in this respect.

While the export of Icelandic literature, along with the translations in which it results, is important in spreading the reputation of this country's culture, what is paramount is generating additional income to support the publication of Icelandic literature and thereby support the Icelandic language itself.

The Frankfurt Book Fair will serve as the first step in a powerful Icelandic advance onto the world literary scene. I am positive that if we cooperate with each other, we will reap rewards, though we must not forget the equal importance of following up on our advances. We are beginning a long-distance race which will call for energy and patience. The Icelandic Government wishes to play a part in this race and has agreed to provide a total appropriation of 45 million kronur this year and next.

Dear guests,

The ambitious agenda of the coming days offers a magnificent banquet for the literary connoisseur. May you enjoy this range of stimulating dishes for the mind and soul.

I hereby open the 2011 Reykjavík International Literary Festival.