Category Archives: Uncategorized

Meet the boss

Cover of "Atlantic Crossing" series showing Sofia Helin

A few weeks back, the Sons of Norway organization (of which I am a member in good standing) interviewed my boss, Linda May Kallestein, about the Atlantic Crossing miniseries. Link here; I can’t embed it.

Aside from working as a translator, in which enterprise I serve as a subcontractor, Linda May was a co-writer on the series, with Alexander Eik. In this interview she talks about her Norwegian-American background, and her experiences in writing and filming.

About 18 minutes.

Lecture enhanced

UPDATE: An enhanced version of my 2002 lecture at Mayville State University has been posted on YouTube. It includes the introduction by Prof. Dale Nelson, explaining how awesome I am. Or was.

The SS American Legion

And the translation work keeps coming. This is most gratifying to me, though it means some long hours at the keyboard for a few days. Also I’ll have to bow out of something I meant to do with the Vikings tomorrow. One must prioritize, and I choose money. Not for my own sake, of course, but for the sake of the people who send me bills.

Above, another newsreel clip giving background on the “Atlantic Crossing” miniseries. Here you’ll see the arrival of the SS American Legion, on which our principal characters fled to America. We see Mrs. Florence Harriman, Ambassador to Norway, a character in the series, as well as Crown Princess Martha and her children. The news conference is precisely the one re-created for the series, even down to the dress Martha is wearing.

Another notable figure who travelled on the SS American Legion was the humorist/musician Victor Borge, a Jew fleeing Denmark.

Ancient wisdom

Many long years ago, in 2002, I gave my very first lecture on the Vikings at Mayville State University in Mayville, ND. The invitation came thanks to my friend Dale Nelson, of the English Department. That culturally significant moment was recorded for posterity, and the video has just been posted at YouTube, as you see above.

The first time I saw this video, some time after the talk, I was impressed with how fat I looked. Now I’m impressed with how young I look.

I can’t guarantee I still stand behind all the opinions I express in this talk. One lives, translates, and learns.

A little over half an hour.

Royal visit, 1939

I’m bogged down again with lucrative translation today. But in service of my vested interest in the miniseries “Atlantic Crossing” on PBS Masterpiece, I offer this film clip I just found, with footage of Crown Prince Olav and Princess Martha during their US goodwill tour in 1939 (briefly dramatized in the first episode). Unfortunately, it’s silent, but there are some title cards. You will note that the original Martha was rather taller than the actress who plays her (Sofia Helin), and wore rather larger hats.

Chess Mastery as Escape Route

Chess masters in Iran have chaffed against government restrictions on their conduct abroad. Women must wear hijabs in public, just as they would be expected to at home, and any player scheduled to play against an Israeli must forfeit the game. Any violation of these rules would mean personal punishment and likely repercussions for your family as well.

World News Group describes a few Iranian chess players who took a stand or suffered an forfeit and reacted by seeking asylum in France, England, or America.

Many Iranian stars like Firouzja go to France, but Moradiabadi recalled that when he visited the French Embassy, staff were condescending about having certain paperwork. When he went to the U.S. Embassy, the woman helping him kept saying “okie dokie” and told him she would help with any copies of forms he forgot.

In 2012 he obtained a U.S. green card and in 2017 became an American citizen: “That was a happy day for me.” Moradiabadi was delighted to see an Iranian women’s grandmaster, Dorsa Derakh­shani, playing for the United States a few years ago, after the Iranian federation expelled her for not wearing a hijab at a tournament. She was a student of his in Iran as a young girl.

“Actors are leaving, artists are leaving, it’s everything. Chess is one of many things,” said Moradiabadi.

“Refugees’ Gambit” by Emily Belz, April 8, 2021

For your Spectation

Suddenly, I have lots of translation work. For a day or two, anyway.

This helped divert my thoughts from the impending verdict in the Chauvin trial. This was of particular interest to me, since my city was likely to burn if the “wrong” decision was made.

But the verdict was just announced. Guilty on all counts. I’m pretty sure at least part of it is unjust, and likely to be overturned on appeal. So I have the uneasy sensation of being relieved, due to what looks like a lynching.

Of this I am ashamed.

I wrote down some thoughts for The American Spectator Online here. They are not happy thoughts. Though some are clever, I think.

The king’s back-story

King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav shelter from a German air raid in 1940. Photo credit: Per Bratland (1907-1988). From Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

I was busy translating yesterday (got some work done on the novel too; it was a good day). So I don’t have anything to review tonight. Of what shall I write? Well, there’s a miniseries running on PBS, to which I have a personal connection. I’m sure you’re following this excellent production closely. I’ll share some of my vast personal store of knowledge to give you some background information, illuminating and enriching your viewing experience.

You may recall a scene where King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav discuss whether to remain in the country, risking capture and capitulation, or to flee to England, which could be construed as abdicating. “This could mean the end of the monarchy,” one of them says. (Maybe not in those very words; I translated it but I don’t have eidetic memory.)

Their concern here is greater than it would be for ordinary monarchs. The Norwegian monarchy was actually still experimental, and a little shaky. Haakon and Olav had spent their entire lives inventing and sustaining a modern Norwegian royal tradition.

Norway, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned, lost its independence for a period of about 500 years – from the mid-14th Century to 1905. Roughly 400 of those years were spent in union with Denmark, and then it was transferred to Sweden by the Congress of Vienna in 1814.

With independence coming, the question was, what form of government would Norway have? A lot of Norwegians admired France and the US, and favored a republic. But republicanism was unpopular among the European elite. Republics were notoriously unstable; France was suffering a string of government turnovers.

When the Norwegians voted to become independent, Sweden was uncertain whether to oppose the move or not. Military action was not off the table. They let it be known that they were more favorable to having a monarchy next door than a republic. So when Norwegians (the explorer/diplomat Fridtjof Nansen among them) went to speak to their favored royal candidate, Prince Carl of Denmark, they explained that if he agreed to become king, he might very well secure Norwegian independence and prevent war.

Prince Carl had his reservations. The brother of the king of Denmark, he had a perfectly fine career as a naval officer, and had never meddled much in politics. Accepting would involve radical lifestyle changes and new responsibilities for his wife Maude (daughter of Edward VII of England and not an outgoing person) and his young son Alexander.

But they were won over. They began with a brilliant public relations move. Knowing that the last two kings of Norway had been named Haakon VI and Olav IV (Olav had died young of a congenital condition, ending the independent Norwegian dynasty), Carl changed his own name to Haakon, and his son Alexander’s to Olav. So they became Haakon VII and Olav V. Symbolically, they were picking up the dynasty precisely where it had left off half a millennium ago.

The Norwegian constitution granted the king a fair amount of power. Haakon deliberately refused to exercise it, keeping himself to ceremonial and non-political activities. Even when the Labor Party (Arbeiderparti), dominated by Communists and inclined against monarchy, took power in 1927, Haakon insisted on working with them.

The decision to evacuate and form a government in exile lost them a measure of support. Some Norwegians who joined the Nazis actually blamed the king and the crown prince for abandoning them.

But they persevered, and when they finally returned victorious in 1945, they were more popular than ever. Olav in his turn was highly regarded (and accessible. Have I mentioned I saw him in person once?).

‘Atlantic Crossing,’ translator’s reaction

Although I’d already seen the first two episodes of “Atlantic Crossing,” I wasn’t about to miss the big premiere on PBS Sunday night. I found a friend who was willing to have me over to watch with his girlfriend on his big TV (I even got a free meal out of it).

As I told you before, it was as good as I remembered. Well acted (I’m highly impressed with Kyle Maclachlan’s performance as FDR. He really nails the character), nail-bitingly dramatic, and beautiful to watch. Just a class production all the way.

I know this script intimately. Not as a writer would – as I keep telling people, I had zero creative input – but as someone who helped translate through multiple revisions. I know where certain minor cuts were made to tighten things up. I remember how I imagined the scenes when I worked on them, and in every case they’re more spacious on film (or on tape, or however it’s done nowadays). And I had the opportunity to lecture my fellow viewers about Norwegian history, and the unspoken dynamics behind the historical events.

Based on the reactions I’ve seen on Facebook, American readers liked the show very much indeed. I will say nothing about historical authenticity here, or anywhere. That’s not for me to discuss. I’ll only say that this is a miniseries, and that dramatic form involves certain iron demands. You’ve got to have a full dramatic arc for each of the eight episodes, and that involves massaging actual events to some extent. I think “Atlantic Crossing” ought to be evaluated as a work of art. And on that level it succeeds brilliantly. There ought to be awards.

If you missed Episode One, you should be able to stream it here.

‘Atlantic Crossing’ 2nd chance

If, in spite of all my exhortations and horn blowing, you somehow missed the premiere of the miniseries ‘Atlantic Crossing’ (which I helped translate; I probably haven’t mentioned that) Sunday evening, you can stream the episode here.

It’s awesome. And I’m only partly responsible.