Intelligence Squared Podcast Summary
Episode Title: How does a nation’s language shape its identity? Hannah Kent on her year in Iceland
Date: November 17, 2025
Host: Danielle Sands
Guest: Hannah Kent, Australian novelist and author of Always Home, Always Homesick

Overview

This episode explores the profound relationship between language, identity, and belonging, as experienced and interpreted by acclaimed novelist Hannah Kent. Host Danielle Sands delves into Hannah's transformative teenage exchange in rural Iceland, the cultural and linguistic immersion that inspired her landmark novel Burial Rites, and the soulful, enduring connection she traces in her memoir Always Home, Always Homesick. Their conversation uncovers how learning a new language can reshape one's creative self, and examines the intimate, bittersweet experience of being “always home, always homesick.”

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Genesis of the Memoir (03:12–08:16)

• Reluctance and Inspiration:
  Hannah reveals she never intended to write a memoir, believing her life was too unremarkable to warrant one. The process began unexpectedly when, during the 2020 lockdown, her mother gave her a box of memorabilia from her Icelandic exchange year, forcing her to reflect on her past:
  • “I was troubled by this sense that I might not ever be able to write again. Language had gone from me... In reading a lot of these diaries, I found a kind of parallel state in them when, at 17, I deeply held this desire to write at the heart of me, and yet was troubled by a lack of direction.” – Hannah Kent (05:41)
• Creative Reconnection:
  Re-engaging with her past through these documents helped her reconnect with her lost sense of self and creativity, prompting a realization about the lifelong impact of that Icelandic year.

Belonging, Homesickness, and Identity (08:16–12:12)

• Duality of Home and Homesickness:
  The unique title, Always Home, Always Homesick, captures the paradox of belonging both in Australia and Iceland, but never feeling complete in either:
  • “There is always a small part of me which feels slightly incomplete. You know, it's this sense that there's another me on the other side of the world.” – Hannah Kent (09:36)
• Language and the Self:
  Hannah discusses how acquiring a new language can awaken a different aspect of the self—leading to the complex question: Can we be homesick for the version of ourselves that only exists elsewhere or in another language?
  • “Can we be homesick for ourselves in another place?” – Hannah Kent (09:58)

Writing as a Response to Restlessness and Longing (11:08–12:12)

• Creativity and Restlessness:
  Writing, for Hannah, is both an act of longing and an attempt to bridge the gap between places and selves:
  • “When I write... it was born out of a desire to place myself [in Iceland] through my writing. Especially during a time when I was unable to travel.” – Hannah Kent (11:32)

The Transformative Power of Language Learning (12:12–17:12)

• Language as Cultural Access:
  Learning Icelandic was not just a practical tool for communication but a window into Iceland’s history, traditions, and worldview.
  • “There is so much which is held within language. It's not simply about being a dictionary — it's about learning a history through the words that are in use, through the proverbs that come into play, through the slang.” – Hannah Kent (13:38)
• Revelations Through Vocabulary:
  Discovering words like “kveldwacher” (the Icelandic ‘evening wake’) offered direct insight into both history and everyday life.
• Advocating for Language Learning:
  Hannah urges for greater advocacy around learning languages, pointing out its role in fostering empathy and deeper cultural understanding.
  • “I feel like I come to know the soul of a people through language. And I also feel myself growing in acquiring language... being able to question prejudices or the ways in which I live my life.” – Hannah Kent (15:40)

Immersion and Community: The Theatre Group Anecdote (17:12–20:27)

• Serendipitous Integration:
  Unable to access formal Icelandic classes, Hannah accidentally joins a local theatre group in a remote village and learns the language unconventionally—by working backstage, cleaning stage blood, and following scripts.
  • “I started learning Icelandic from this very strange way. I think of it as learning it from the grave up.” – Hannah Kent (18:46)
• Effect on Cultural Belonging:
  This immersion accelerates her integration and gives her a unique understanding of Icelandic storytelling and humor.

The Influence of Icelandic Culture and Landscape (20:27–25:47)

• Otherworldly Draw, Everyday Validation:
  Although assigned Iceland by chance, Hannah reflects on how the country’s singular literary culture and reverence for writers gave her permission to take herself seriously as a novelist:
  • “There was never this sense [in Australia] that writing was a... vocation. There was only this sense [in Iceland] of absolutely, this is a very worthy thing to do. You need to take yourself seriously and you should absolutely do it.” – Hannah Kent (22:50)
• Examples of Literary Culture:
  From farmhouse walls lined with books to a national TV show interviewing authors, the Icelandic environment validated her creative aspirations.

Memorable Moments: The Poetry Incident (25:47–28:58)

• Classroom Encounter:
  Caught writing poetry instead of doing her assignment, Hannah expects to be admonished, but is instead gifted a book and told:
  • “If you keep writing, you will be published one day.” – Hannah Kent quoting her teacher (26:54) This moment is highlighted as a vivid example of adult, non-patronizing encouragement unique to Iceland.

Writing as Bridge: Personal and Collective Meaning (30:59–33:49)

• Writing and Reading as Lifelines:
  Hannah discusses literature as a tool to understand both the inner and outer world, nurturing empathy and expanding one's view:
  • “Words are how... I could both give life to myself, but also... an exchange with the world beyond my interior kind of life as well.” – Hannah Kent (33:06)

The Origins of Burial Rites (33:49–39:54)

• Foundational Story:
  Hannah recounts hearing the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, Iceland’s last executed woman, early in her exchange, and her growing, almost haunting obsession with the gaps and silences in Agnes’s history.
  • “I started dreaming about her... and everything I was writing, even the poetry I was writing, was sort of in her voice. There was something there that I needed to exercise, I guess.” – Hannah Kent (37:18)
• Place-Based Storytelling:
  The way Icelandic stories are tied to place, landscape, and language feeds into both the storytelling of her novel and her sense of personal resonance.

Ethical Storytelling and History (39:54–42:17)

• Responsibility as an Outsider:
  Hannah reflects on the ethics of writing about another culture’s history, emphasizing an internal motivation:
  • “I was at pains to ensure that whatever I was doing, it wasn't finding a juicy story from the past and kind of, you know, exploiting it... It was about kind of opening up the possibility of many truths.” – Hannah Kent (41:05)
• Interrogating Historical Truths:
  Rather than correcting history, she sought to multiply perspectives and ask deeper questions.

Acceptance and Belonging Through Literary Success (42:17–46:18)

• Community Reception in Iceland:
  Hannah describes returning after Burial Rites’s success, feeling the need to demonstrate her respectful engagement (through language skills and research), and the profound full-circle experience of seeing quotations from her novel embedded alongside historical accounts at Agnes’s execution site:
  • “It was the most concrete way possible... that I could see that what I had written was a contribution to people's contemporary understanding of the case... one of those very rare but incredible full circle moments.” – Hannah Kent (45:03)

The Ongoing Pull of Iceland (46:18–47:46)

• Enduring Split-Identity:
  Hannah concludes she’s not done with Iceland—artistically or emotionally. Her creative and personal yearning remains active, with her connections in Iceland continually encouraging her to return and write more.

Notable Quotes

• On language, self, and belonging:

  • “Can we be homesick for ourselves in another place?” – Hannah Kent (09:58)
  • “I feel like I come to know the soul of a people through language.” – Hannah Kent (15:40)

• On creative validation:

  • “If you keep writing, you will be published one day.” – Hannah Kent quoting her Icelandic teacher (26:54)
  • “There was never this sense that writing was a hobby or slightly embarrassing, these things which I had started to feel at home in Australia. There was only this sense of absolutely, this is a very worthy thing to do.” – Hannah Kent (22:50)

• On Iceland’s influence:

  • “It felt very fated, you know, it really does feel like it's a place I was supposed to be.” – Hannah Kent (21:44)
  • “It was such a strong, strong influence, and I was very conscious of its influence when I was there.” – Hannah Kent (24:31)

• On writing and reading:

  • “Words are how... I could both give life to myself, but also... an exchange with the world beyond my interior kind of life as well.” – Hannah Kent (33:06)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:41] Memoir’s accidental origins and returning to creative self
• [09:36] Dual belonging and the notion of being “homesick for oneself”
• [13:38] Language as more than vocabulary—cultural entry points
• [15:40] Language learning as a tool for empathy and self-expansion
• [18:46] The theatre group story—accidental community and unconventional language acquisition
• [22:50] Iceland’s literary culture as validation for a writer’s identity
• [26:54] The poetry episode—unique Icelandic encouragement
• [33:06] Literature spanning inner and outer worlds
• [37:18] The haunting influence of Agnes Magnúsdóttir and the spark for Burial Rites
• [41:05] Ethical reflections on telling another culture’s story
• [45:03] Seeing her words engraved at Agnes’s execution site
• [46:58] Recognition of ongoing creative pull toward Iceland

Conclusion

This episode highlights not only the intensely personal ways in which a language can shape an individual's identity and creative life, but also how a nation’s stories, landscape, and ethos can act as a profound, lifelong anchor. Hannah Kent provides moving testimony to the transformative power of linguistic and cultural immersion—and to the bittersweet gift of finding oneself both always at home and always homesick.