Reykjavik, Ep. 1

May 17, 2013 — In one of our most exhilarating debuts ever, Literary Death Match descended on Dolly in gob-smacking Reykjavik, where a jam-packed audience saw Kári Tulinius narrowly outduel Auður Jónsdóttir in an Icelandic Literary Pictionary finale by a narrow 3-1 margin to win Tulinius the LDM Reykjavik, Ep. 1 crown.

But before the finale was even a consideration, the night kicked off with poet/novelist Kári Tulinius reading a pseudo-rap comprised of keywords associated with summer: Beer. Parks. Soccer. Hot dogs. The dawn of hashtag poetry, perhaps? Andri Snær Magnason (author of LoveStar & The Story of the Blue Planet) then took the stage and read the opening of his upcoming as-of-yet untitled novel that seems to be a playful post-economic-meltdown fantasy.

The mic was then passed to the judges. Cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson (author of Should you be laughing at this? and judging intangibles) was struck by the youthful appearance of both Tulinius and Magnason — as Tulinius reminded him of a kindergarten student, whereas Magnason struck him as the perfect kindergarten teacher. Interestingly, actress Arndis Hrönn Egilsdottir (judging performance) felt that the soothing voice of Tulinius was perhaps only a cloak for his dormant terrorist persona, and while Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson (author of Tími hnyttninnar er liðinn and judging literary merit) sensed Springsteenesque undertones in Tulinius' poetry, Andri Snær's performance reminded him eerily of...Andri Snær.

After a brutal judging huddle, the trio emerged and made the night's first impossible decision: naming Tulinius the night's first finalist. 

After a brief intermission, Round 2 commenced with Kristín Eiríksdóttir (author of Kjötbærinn and Húðlit auðnin) bringing the audience along to a Texas funeral from her just published first novel, Hvítfeld, followed by Auður Jónsdóttir (author of the Icelandic Prize-winning Fólkið í kjallaranum and Vetrarsól) made the crowd cringe when she read an excerpt from her new novel Ósjálfrátt featuring both orgasms and parents.

Back to the judges, Egilsdottir couldn't help but be stricken by Jónsdóttir's shoes: a bright orange pair of running shoes that made it clear that she was here to win the race, although she found Eiríksdóttir's sandals and socks combo unnervingly cool too — a sentiment echoed in Benediktsson's affinity for the effortless 'American cool' of Eiríksdóttir's prose. Dagsson expressed his feelings of embarrassment during Jónsdóttir reading but claimed ultimately to have made peace with his father's orgasm, a pivotal moment in his life, after all.

Again, the judges were torn on who to choose as the night's second finalist, but after a lengthy discussion, it was Jónsdóttir that won out in a split vote. 

Then up stepped LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga, who brought Jónsdóttir and Tulinius center stage to compete in a finale that had both finalists (and the crowd) guessing as volunteers from the audience drew award-winning Icelandic book titles, while LDM Reykjavik producer Atli Bollason looked on helping Zuniga with the translation. With Tulinius up 2-1, and Zuniga admitting that he was hoping for sudden death, Jónsdóttir and her shouting audience half came so close, but it was Tulinius who scored the third point first, winning both the LDM Reykjavik, Ep. 1 crown, and literary immortality to go with it. 

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