On the birthday of Ojārs Vācietis on November 13, the winners of the Ojārs Vācietis Literary Prize in Poetry have become known. The prize for the collection of poems published in the previous literary year is presented by Carnikava municipality in cooperation with the Ojārs Vācietis Museum and the Ojārs Vācietis Society.
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Unusually this year, two collections of poems received the same evaluation of the competition commission, and Inga Pizāne became the winner of the € 1,000 cash prize for the collection “Wall to Silence” (publishing house and book publishing house “Jāņa Rozes apgāds”), as well as Jānis Hvoinskis for the collection “ Muse from the city N ”(publishing house“ Neputns) ”.
One of this year’s laureates, the poet Inga Pizāne says: “Life is like this so that we can transform it, Ojārs Vācietis has said, and I agree with him. And, in my opinion, poetry is exactly what helps to notice change – both in ourselves and in the world around us. Even if poetry is not what changes the world, it certainly helps to become more attentive and move the world forward – to make it warmer, more poetic, and in some ways both more fragile and bolder, because poetry reveals to us not only what is perhaps the most beautiful. , but also its weaknesses, and with that in mind, it helps us live better lives. ”
Jānis Hvoinskis: “It is a great pleasure to receive the award at this interesting time. Thanks are due to the editor Kārlis Vērdiņš, who took on this work and directed me to the editorial office of “Neputna” and thanks to the editorial office of “Neputna”. My biggest thanks to Carnikava City Council for presenting this award to me, for choosing me – to my own surprise. And, thank you for maintaining this award dedicated to the memory of Ojārs Vācietis for years. ”
Ieva Ķīse, the director of the Ojārs Vācietis Museum and the Ojārs Vācietis Society, as well as a long-time member of the Ojārs Vācietis Prize Commission, says: “Ojārs Vācietis said:“ Time called me! ”, And in his poetry In the last years of his life, he realized that no matter how hard he tried, it was not in his power – it was better to do it. He realized that the only thing he could do was talk to the people of his time in poetry and hope that these people would make the time better together. It seems to me that this year’s nominees for the Poetry Prize also appeal to readers. Poetry is very rich, thank you to the authors for that! ”
Due to the epidemiological situation, the prize was not presented in a live event this year, as previously planned, but in a special video Carnikava municipality and Carnikava municipality folk house “Ozolaine” Facebook account.
Nine book publishers and publishers had submitted a record number of poetry collections this year – 20, which were reviewed and evaluated by the competition commission, which decides on the winner of the 2020 prize, in accordance with the competition regulations. This was the 18th time that the Carnikava municipality in cooperation with the Ojārs Vācietis Museum and the Ojārs Vācietis Society presented a prize of 1,000 euros.
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