My Mythical Land

A tiny troll doll. I was seven years old.
Troll pictures on walls in Uncle Bowman’s house,
talk of tomten in a Swedish accent—
this was part of my mind’s landscape when I was a child.
They stayed tucked away in a corner of my consciousness.

Until 1968, when they came to the forefront again.
I wrote and illustrated my first published book—
THE CHRISTMAS VISITORS, about Norwegian trolls.

The trolls receded, forgotten, until 45 years later.
A trip to Iceland and Greenland brought them forward again—
they were there all along.

I wanted to see icebergs in Iceland— I saw horses.
I saw primeval landscapes.
I saw craggy mountains and rock formations.

I photographed the horses.
I photographed the landscapes.

And I photographed the craggy mountains and rock formations.
There I saw the hidden people, the trolls and all the folk
that might live in these crags and caves.
But the photographs didn’t seem complete, so I added the little people.

I had found their home.

                                                                                    Jeanette Winter