Myths and Legends : 1997 Faroe Islands

1997-May-20 Europa Myths and Legends Faroes Island

William Heinesen art for The Temptations of Saint Anthony and Marmennil – The Little Merman.

William Heinesen (1900-1991) is the most famous poet and novelist of the Faroes. His writing focuses on contrasts between darkness and light, between destruction and creativity. Then following is the existential struggle of man to take sides. This is not always easy, however, and the lines between good and bad are not always clearly defined.

Heinesen was captivated by the mysterious part of life, calling himself religious in the broadest sense of the word. His life could be described as a struggle against defeatism with one oft-quoted aphorism of his is that "life is not despair, and death shall not rule".