Volcanic Activity

Doug Johnstone lets his imagination erupt

- Doug Johnstone

Around 10 years ago, when I was hammering the keys as an arts journalist, I found myself in Iceland to interview crime writer Arnaldur Indridason. I’d visited before, but the otherworldly landscape of the place was assaulting my senses all over again.

With a bit of time before the interview I randomly wandered into the Culture House, the country’s national museum, in downtown Reykjavik. There was an exhibition on Surtsey, the volcanic island formed off the south coast of Iceland during a prolonged eruption in 1963.