David Arnason has spent a lifetime along the shores of Lake Manitoba near the settlement of New Iceland, or Gimli as it is officially known. A keen observer, not much misses his notice and over his long writing career the lake and the town he grew up in have figured prominently in his work. Letters to New Iceland is a loving reflection of the land that has made him one of Canada's most loved story tellers.
Tracking the course of his early ancestors to New Iceland, Arnason draws a picture of a community tied to the old world and the new. Proud and bold, Arnason's New Iceland revels in the traditions that both tie the town to its home across the sea and set it apart. From the festivities of islendingadagurinn to the century old general store that is a corner stone of the community, Letters to New Iceland brings the warmth and peace of lake living to bear in a time that appears to be anything but.

David Arnason was born in Gimli, Manitoba, in 1940. He has a Master’s Degree from the University of Manitoba and a PhD from the University of New Brunswick. He divides his time between Winnipeg, where he teaches Canadian literature and creative writing at the University of Manitoba, and Gimli, where he does most of his writing. He has also taught Canadian literature and creative writing in Tasmania, Trier, and Strasbourg.His works include two collections of poetry, Marsh Burning and Skrag, and four collections of short stories: Fifty Stories and a Piece of Advice, The Circus Performer’s Bar, The Happiest Man in the World, and The Pagan Wall.

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