Even more empathy in the literature. Readers appreciate last year’s most recognized books / Article / LSM.lv

Looking back at last year’s Latvian literature, Vita Zelče, Director of the Doctoral Study Program at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia, hopes that the pandemic will inspire new works of prose to reflect on the various challenges we face in both professional and private relations. . Literary critic Arnis Koroševskis and Jelgava Library Readers’ Club member Baiba Kokina add their opinions on the achievement of the written word in 2020.

Both Vita Zelče and Arnis Koroševskis say about last year’s literature in the Latvian Radio program “Kultūras rondo” that it was very rich in all genres. Koroševskis especially highlights the nominees for the Latvian Literature of the Year Award (LALIGABA) in the category “The Brightest Debut”, but Zelče highlights another general trend – empathy and compassion can be found in literature more than in other years.

My book

Which of the readings left the brightest impression?

Baiba Kokina: I really liked Inga Ābele’s book “White Dress”. I think that the story is not an easy genre – to conjure life in a few pages, to say something that comes to mind. These stories are quite, as the author says – painful, cheesy. I highly recommend reading this work, even for those who are afraid of stories.

Just got into my hands and still half read, but I really like it Laima Kota’s novel “Man with a Blue Bird”. The sarcasm and humor of Anšlavs Eglītis meet interestingly with the bright view of Laima Kota. I perceive this as an extremely successful dialogue between the authors and Anšlavs Eglītis.

It should be noted that the life of the Latvian intelligentsia in the post-war refugee camps is a topic that is rather little covered in the literature.

Vita ZelčeA: My favorite this year is Alda Bukša’s novel “Brothers”. The novel is about a very strong identity of Latgale and also about relations with the rest of Latvia. In this novel, a modern criminal intrigue intertwines with the layer of the past, namely, the fights of Latgale national partisans. This is a book about the originality and power of Latgale both today and in the past, which, in my opinion, a large part of Latvia neither notices nor accepts.

Of course, there is also the series “I am” from the works I have chosen. It is unfortunate that I have not yet read all the novels, but the undoubted favorite at the moment is Inga Gaile’s novel “Writer”. The book is very well written in terms of content and form.

It is a message about the beginning of a woman’s journey from inequality to the first beginnings of equality.

Arnis Koroševskis: Dace Vīgante’s collection of stories “Bumbulītis”, which I consider the author ‘s most successful book so far. This time, Vīgante has managed to synthesize her minimalism with a more expressive, brighter expression.

Andra Manfelde’s novel “Vilcēni”. It must be said that this is a very unusual work, because with this poetic, expressive language Manfelde approaches the liroeptic tradition – the novel rather resembles a poem in places. This is a wonderful description of Jurmala’s life and everyday life in the early 1990s. I believe that Andra Manfelde is currently one of the strongest Latvian writers, who will remain with such an assessment in the history of Latvian literature at the beginning of the 21st century. She is able to work artistically strongly in all genres.

If we are talking about translations, then we should definitely be happy about Charles Bukovsky’s selection of poetry “Bite”. He is a cult author, and I think that this selection of poetry will also become a cult book in a way.

Behind the board

What causes confusion in the list of LALIGABA nominees?

Arnis Koroševskis: Bearing in mind that I myself have been on the LALIGABA jury last year, I have no illusions about how complicated this evaluation process is. It may seem like a very humanitarian process, but it’s basically mathematical in nature – if you have ten strong books, then you have to choose seven of them, which are extremely strong and [galu galā] must be included in four books.

Evaluating literature is such an impossible mission – art criticism is extremely subjective and must always be taken into account.

Vita Zelče: I really don’t like that there is no documentary literature in the range of LALIGABA nominations. At the moment, in my opinion, the documentary direction is moving more towards literature, away from science. In modern science, such a classical monograph loses its significance, but documentary narration or popular science narration is both necessary and a good narrative opportunity.

CONTEXT:

The winners of the LALIGABA awards will be determined by a secret ballot of the expert commission and announced in the LALIGABA award presentation program, which will be shown on April 30 this year at 21.00 on LTV1 and on the portal LSM.lv. It will be created by “Satori” creative team and director Liene Linde.

Nominees for the Latvian Literature of the Year Award:

The best work of poetry

• Amanda Aizpuriete “Before Moving” (“Neputns”)
• Ingmara Balode “Poems of Our Era” (“Neputns”)
• Katrīna Rudzīte “Comfortable portable wings” (“Neputns”)
• Kārlis Vērdiņš “Ready Poetry” (“Neputns”)

The best work of prose

• Inga Ābele “White Dress” (“Book of the Day”)
• Inga Gaile “Writer” (“Book of the Day”)
• Jānis Joņevs “Tiger” (“Book of the Day”)
• Laura Vinogradova “River” (“Star ABC”)

The best job for kids

• Eriks Bērziņš’s “Mother’s Poems”, illustrated by Anna Vaivare (“Big and Small”)
• Ieva Melgalve, Elizabete Lukšo-Ražinska “Emī and Rū. The Heart of a Robot ”, illustrated by Guna Poga (“ Tuta Media ”)
• March Pujāts “Ej nu ej”, illustrated by Lāsma Pujāte (“Big and small”)
• Inga Žolude “For the First Time on Earth”, illustrated by Krišs Salmanis (“Big and Small”)

The best translation

• Eden van de Wendel’s novel “Summer of the Blue Grass” (“Big and Small”) translated from Dutch by Dena Dimiņa
• Selected Poetry of Charles Bukovskis “Cod” (“Neputns”) translated from English by Jānis Elsbergs
• Jurga Ville’s graphic story “Siberian Haiku” translated from Dace Meiere into Lithuanian, illustrated by Lina Itagaki (“Big and Small”)
• Leonid Dobichin’s novel “Enpils” (“Orbit”) translated from Russian by Mara Polakova

The brightest debut

• Elvira Blom’s “Deleted Images” (“Orbit”)
• Andris Kalnozols “Calendar calls me” (“Orbit”)
• Ivars Šteinbergs “Hive” (“Neputns”)
• Lauris Veips “Interesting Days” (“Orbit”)

The motto of this year’s award “Joy and Sorrow” confirms the power of literature to survive even the most gloomy times, providing an opportunity to take refuge from what is happening around you, allowing you to travel in time and space, as well as find comfort and better understand the world. No matter what happens, the book will never disappoint – it will be together in joys, sorrows, health and illness, it will be able to take you through fire and water, – this is confirmed by the stamp, the visual sign of this year’s award. The author of the visual identity of the award is the artist Mareks Hofmanis.

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