On an Island Named for Ice, the Poets Are Just Getting Warmed Up

When they’re not at their day jobs, a great many of (Iceland's) 330,000 inhabitants dabble in verse, including politicians, businessmen, horse breeders and scientists who study the genetic isolation of the island in pursuit of medical breakthroughs. Even David Oddsson, who was prime minister in 2002 (when Iceland’s banks were privatized) and central bank governor in 2008 (when they collapsed), is a poet by training.

from the New York Times 

In Iceland the poets hold sway;

so many they get in the way.

You can't throw a shard

without hitting a bard,

composing a long roundelay.