Not so long ago
The traditional oral Greenlandic narrative became a written work with the advent of printing in the south of the country in 1857. We owe much to Moravian linguist Samuel Petruc Kleinschmidt (1814-1886), who invented the spelling used to write Greenlandic between 1851 and 1873! He also translated parts of the Bible into this language. Then there's Hinrich Johannes Rink (1819-1893), founder of the first Greenlandic-language newspaper Atuagagdliutit in 1861, and the first to collect stories from local oral tradition. Then came Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933), a Danish explorer and anthropologist. He is even nicknamed "the father of Eskimoulogy". He put down on paper the legends, tales, myths and stories of the ancients. Some of his writings have been translated into French, such as En traîneau du Groenland à l'Alaska; La Chasse à l'ours; Du Groenland au Pacifique : deux ans d'intimité avec des tribus d'esquimaux inconnus..
At the same time, Hans Hendrik (1834-1889) made his mark on the country's literary history. He was the first to publish his memoirs of his Arctic voyages (1878). Jean Malaurie paints a remarkable portrait of him in his book Ultima Thulé, describing him as the first Greenland explorer to observe the Thule population in the north of the country, where he lived for a time.
The 20th century
The Dream of a Greenlander (1914) by Mathias Storch (1883-1957) is the first Greenlandic novel to appear. A pastor and local boy, he was one of Greenland's advocates of modernization. His main character, Paavia, becomes aware of his people's underdevelopment in relation to the Danes, and tries to do something about it. In the end, in a dream, he imagines a free and prosperous Greenland in the distant future. A few years later, Augo Lynge's (1899-1959) futuristic novel Three Hundred Years Later was published. In it, he describes the Arctic in 2021 as seen from 1931 - and it may be incredible, but he wasn't wrong! Lynge already understood his time perfectly, the changes taking place and where they could lead the country. As for Anita Conti (1899-1997), France's first female oceanographer, in 1993 she wrote Racleurs d'océans, a book about the sea that blends literature and ethnology. Finally, we must mention Jonathan Petersen (1881-1961), composer of Greenland's national anthem. An author of newspaper articles, he also translated short stories, wrote a manual on spelling and a dictionary!
Nowadays
Some names have made it across the sea to the shelves of French bookshops. Kelly Berthelsen (b. 1967), author of darkly realistic short stories, published Je ferme les yeux pour couvrir l'obscurité in 2001. A defender of Greenlandic identity and language, his discourse is tinged with profound dismay. This author clearly reveals the Greenland of the 1970s-1980s, and is the first to win international recognition. He was awarded the Nordic Council's Grand Prize for Literature. We should also mention Jorn Riel (b. 1931), a Danish author who lived in Greenland for several years. His works have a certain ethnological interest. He wrote a series of novels, Les Racontars arctiques, later adapted as comic strips by Gwen de Bonneval and Hervé Tanquerelle: La Communauté, Les Voleurs de Carthage, Un petit détour et autres racontars. Other writers are also enjoying success. Starting with Kim Leine (b. 1961), who spent many years living in Greenland. His first autobiographical novel, Kalak, was published in 2007. He has produced such superb works as Tunu in 2009 and Les Prophètes du fjord de l'éternité in 2012. For this historical novel, translated worldwide, he was awarded the Nordic Council's Grand Prize for Literature. In 2015, his novel L'Abîme evokes Europe between the wars. Another literary name is Hans Anthon Lynge, born in 1947. He is best known for Just Before the Boat Arrives, for which he received the Nordic Council's Grand Prize for Literature. Author Niviaq Korneliussen won a short story competition with her book San Francisco. In 2014, her novel Homo Sapienne met with great success. It's a controversial novel about the gay community. In it, she describes the lives of five young people in the city of Nuuk. Her novel Last Night in Nuuk was published in 2019. Also worth mentioning is Aqqaluk Lynge (b. 1947), former president of the ICC International Inuit Organization and member of parliament. He is one of the intellectuals who took part in the identity claims: he worked for Greenland's autonomy and for recognition of the Arctic Inuit as a unique people. The author of several books, he is particularly well known for his poetry (Des veines du cœur au sommet de la pensée, 2012). Finally, let's not forget TV and radio personality Flemming Jensen (b. 1948, Denmark). In 2012, his novel Imaqa : Une aventure au Groenland tells the story of a Danish schoolteacher who, feeling a void in his existence, is transferred to Greenland, to a hamlet called Nunaqarfik, and discovers a new life of adventure, harmony, love and immensity!
The goddess of the sea
The Inuit of the Arctic regions have always survived thanks to natural resources, and have thus always been aware of being an integral part of nature. Greenland's most famous legend, entitled Sassumap arnaa, tells of the sea goddess who gathers all the animals in her tousled hair to punish mankind for their greed. A shaman is sent to appease her and promise that men will improve their behavior. He is then allowed to comb his hair in such a way as to allow the animals to escape. Anthropologist Jean-Michel Huctin explains: "This traditional personification of a nature that is both stingy and generous taught the Inuit to respect its hidden laws. They followed certain rituals to avoid offending the seals, whales and bears that offered themselves to them. Nothing was wasted". At a time of global warming and pollution threats, the sea goddess remains more than ever a powerful symbol in the fight to preserve the environment. And a fine literary subject.
