A new anthology of Latvian poetry, published in Ukraine and entitled From Latvian Shores, includes works by Latvian poets and short biographies of the authors: Daina Avotiņa, Viktors Avotiņš, Eriks Ādamsons, Eduards Aivars, Amanda Aizpuriete, Aspazija, Imants Auziņš, Andrejs Balodis, Jānis Baltvilks, Vizma Belševica, Mirdza Bendrupe, Uldis Bērziņš, Lija Brīdaka, Leons Briedis, Pēters Brūveris, Valija Brutāne, Jūlijs Vanags, Ojārs Vācietis, Laimonis Vāczemnieks, Elza Vēciņa, Andris Vējāns, Pāvils Vīlips, Guntars Godiņš, Valdis Grēviņš, Arvīds Grigulis, Jānis Grots, Anna Dagda, Cecīlija Dinere, Dagnija Dreika, Ārija Elksne, Klāvs Elsbergs, Jānis Elsbergs, Māra Zālīte, Inese Zandere, Imants Ziedonis, Pēteris Zirnītis, Astrīde Ivaska, Skaidrīte Kaldupe, Nora Kalna, Monta Kroma, Juris Kronbergs, Juris Kunnoss, Linards Laicens, Laima Līvena, Olga Lisovska, Valdis Lukss, Vitauts Ļūdens, Hermanis Marģers Majevskis, Eva Mārtuža, Broņislava Mārtuževa, Jānis Medenis, Māris Melgalvs, Aivars Neibarts, Jānis Peters, Egils Plaudis, Rainis, Anna Rancāne, Edvīns Raups, Ieva Roze, Jānis Rokpelnis, Valdis Rūja, Māris Salējs, Jānis Sarkanābols, Bruno Saulītis, Arvīds Skalbe, Knuts Skujenieks, Elza Stērste, Olafs Stumbrs, Harijs Heislers, Māris Čaklais, Aleksandrs Čaks un Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš.

The Zurich publishing house Ammann Verlag has published Dace Rukšāne’s (1969) novel (2003) (Warum hast du geweint), in a translation by Matthias Knoll. Kāpēc tu raudāji? is the story of Katrīna, a 17-year-old girl from Riga, who tells of her adventures travelling through the Soviet Union, climbing mountains, and her relationship with her family. The events take place between 1985 and… well… that’s up to every individual reader, because Katrīna’s adventures are outside of time: she is a woman constantly searching, independent of space and time – and sometimes even of herself.

The Estonian publishing house Loomingu Raamatukogu has published a collection of poems by Juris Kronbergs, entitled Maa-alune luule (Underground Poetry), which includes poems from several books by Kronbergs. This new collection offers an overview of Kronbergs’s poetry, beginning with his earliest poems and ending with his most recent works.

Kronbergs’s poems were translated into the Estonian by Guntars Godiņš, who also wrote the preface, and Livia Viitol.

The German publishing house Waxmann has published Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš’s (1877–1962) autobiographical work Es stāstu savai sievai (Ich erzähle meiner Frau), in a translation by O. J. Rozītis. The book offers insight into the author’s feelings and experiences as a refuge who has left his homeland, and discusses his early years in Germany. Es stāstu savai sievai was first published in 1946 in Oldenburg, by the publishing house Tērvete, and a supplemented edition of the book was published in 1951.

Jaunsudrabiņš also wrote poetry and plays, though he is best know for his trilogy of stories, Aija (1911–1925); his depiction of childhood memories, in Baltā grāmata (The White Book) (1914–1921); and the novel Jaunsaimnieks un velns (The Farmer and the Devil). Jaunsudrabiņš translated several works of classic world literature, including Knut Hamsun’s Pan (1906), Guy de Maupassant’s Bel-Ami (1924), and Charles de Coster’s The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak (1927).

The Amsterdam publishing house Van Gennep has published Sandra Kalniete’s novel Ar balles kurpēm Sibīrijas sniegos (With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows) in a Dutch translation by Marijke Koekoek, who translated the work from the French.

In late 2006, novel “Kilpa” (“The Rope”) by Laima Muktupavela was published in Lithuania. The author refers to the novel as a “mythological thriller”, stressing that it was written following the principles of Indian raga where the same theme is repeated over and over again acquiring a new meaning with every repetition. In “The Rope”, things mythological and real intertwine. The mythological elements create a fantastic chaos, in which pagan beliefs and stories borrowed from Latvian folk tales intermingle with Christian allusions (many characters’ names come from the Bible) and literary quotations. For instance, one of the characters of the book, Dante, walks through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The world of “The Rope” is grand and impressive. The techniques of a thriller collide with the mythological elements -- there are mystical “others” who see everything, know everything and watch everyone and there is a storyline that deals with the drug trade. Dzintra Elga Irbite, a promoter of Latvian literature, translated the novel into Lithuanian.

The literary almanac, Under the Northern Sky II (Po šiaurės dangum II; Šiauliai: Saulės delta, 2006), compiled by Markus Roduner has been published in Lithuanian as part of the European Literature Days 2006 in Siauliai. Latvian and Estonian editions are set to follow.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture supported the publication. The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and the Latvian Literature Centre funded translation into Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian.

The collection includes writing or excerpts by Juozas Aputis, Ugnė Barauskaitė, Andrius Jakučiūnas, Vidmantė Jasukaitytė, Rolandas Rastauskas, Alvydas Šlepikas, Audronė Urbonaitė, Eeva Park, and Tarmo Teder.

Juris Kronbegs' book Wolf One-Eye, which features poems in both English and Latvian, is published as part of the series, Visible Poets, by British publisher Arc Publications. Wolf One-Eye is the first book by a Latvian poet to be translated into English and published in full by an overseas publisher.

The book was translated into English by playwright and translator Mara Rozitis, Juris Kronbergs' wife. Estonian poet Jaan Kaplinsky wrote the foreword. The publication was supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation and Latvian Literature Centre.

Wolf One-Eye is a series of poems (or a story poem) that capture the lyrical hero's internal drama and existential struggle to regain his balance and re-establish his identity after the shock of losing an eye. It seems to him that the world that existed before is no longer there and will never be there and he has to create a new world out the chaos.

Finnish publishing house Sammakko has released a collection of poems by Amanda Aizpuriete, “Vihreäsilmäinen yö” (“A Green-Eyed Night”). It includes 75 poems from the collections “Kāpu iela”/”The Dune Street” (1986) , “Pēdējā vasara”/ “The Last Summer”(1995), “Bābeles nomalē”/”The Outskirts of Babel” (1999), “Viršu debesīs”/ “In Skies of Heather” (2003), ad “Vēstuļu vējš/ “Windfall of Poems”(2004). Aizpuriete’s poems were translated into Finnish by Jatta Krug.

Italian translation of poetry by Orbita, multimedia poetry group, has been published by Italian Publishing House Edizioni L'Obliquo.

The first week of May witnessed the 12 th BookWorld – International Book Fair and Literary Festival held in Prague. During the book fair the Czech translations of three Latvian books were published, despite the fact that in the past – with the exception of last year's publication of Sandra Kalniete's documentary prose with V plesových střevíčkách sibiřským sněhem ( With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows – published by Lubor Kasal press), Latvian literature had no been very popular in the Czech Republic. Now the ice has broken: the very same Lubor Kasal is to be credited with the publication of Nespavost ( Insomnia ), the work of a classic Latvian writer Alberts Bels (banned for many years by Soviet censors) and Fra publishers have brought out an Anthology of Contemporary Latvian Poetry (with poems by Inese Zandere, Inga Gaile, Kārlis Vērdiņš, Liāna Langa, Amanda Aizpuriete, Uldis Bērziņš, Knuts Skujenieks, Edvīns Raups, Juris Kronbergs, Jānis Rokpelnis, Jānis Elsbergs, Sergejs Timofejevs, Māra Zālīte, Semjons Haņins, Imants Ziedonis ). Much praise is also merited by the Prague-based publishing house One Woman Press, introducing four contemporary Latvian prose writers ( Inga Ābele, Nora Ikstena, Andra Neiburga, Gundega Repše ) in the book Krajinou samoty ( The Lonely Landscape ). Important contribution to these anthologies was made by Pavel Štoll, the editor and the Czech Baltic studies expert.

Alberts Bels, Nespavost, Lubor Kasal, 2006, ISBN 80-903465-8-8
15 X poezie lotyšsko, Fra, 2006, ISBN 80-86603-17-2
Krajinou samoty, One Woman, Press, ISBN 80-86356-43-4

Another foreign language edition of the autobiographical novel by Sandra Kalniete, With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows, has been recently published in Latvia. The author of the English translation is Margita Gailitis and it is published by the Latvian Occupation Museum Association with the support of the Latvian Culture Capital Foundation and Latvian National Federation in Canada. The book has now been translated into seven languages, including French and Czech.

In the beginning of 2006 the German publishing house Weidle Verlag has published a novel by Anšlavs Eglītis (1906-1993) „Homo Novus” , translated from Latvian into German by Berthold Forssman. The book has been also informatively supported by Latvian Literature Centre and State Culture Capital Foundation.

The publishing house Weidle Verlag mainly focuses on the novels of art, exile and so called „forgotten classics” gallery, therefore „Homo Novus” greatly fits the profile of the publishing house and introduces the audience to the cultural life of Riga in the 30ties of the XX century in a graceful and humorous way. The novel tells about a young artist Juris Upenājs who comes to Riga from the countryside and suddenly gets in the middle of the splendid and swirling artist bohemia. There are several ups and downs, until in some passionate bet he gets a possibility to rise from the ranks…

The first presentation of the book has been planned at the Leipzig Book Fair 2006 (March).

Scotland's leading journal of ideas, the Edinburgh Review publishes essays, short fiction, poetry and reviews aimed at an educated reading public with an interest in critical thought. Since its inception in 1802, the magazine has balanced a strong Scottish focus with a keen interest in international intellectual currents. We are very glad that the Edinburgh Review 115 has been dedicated to Latvian literature. It has been mainly realized by virtue of the Scottish writer Donal McLaughlin, who has been particularly interested in Latvian culture and has done a great job for this to happen. He is the editor of the issue as well as the author of the introductory words. Seven Latvian folk songs , prose by Ieva Lešinska, Mārtiņš Zelmenis, Nora Ikstena, Inga Ābele, Andra Neiburga and poetry by Knuts Skujenieks, Māris Salējs, Liāna Langa, Edvīns Raups, Amanda Aizpuriete, Jānis Elsbergs, Kārlis Vērdiņš and Inga Gaile translated by Donal McLaughlin, Ieva Lešinska, Margita Gailitis, Vitauts Jaunarajs and Ilze Klavina Mueller have been included in the Edinburg Review 115.

In 2005, Sandra Kalniete's book „Ar balles kurpēm Sibīrijas sniegos” (With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows) was published in three countries: it was released in Germany by the publisher Herbig; in Italy by the publisher Libri Scheiwiller; and in the Czech Republic by Lubor Kasal. At this time the book is the most translated work in Latvian literature.

Mit Ballschuhen im sibirischen Schnee, Herbig Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3776624248
Scarpette da ballo nelle nevi di Siberia, Libri Scheiwiller, 2005, ISBN 8876444459
V plesových střevíčkách sibiřským sněhem, Lubor Kasal, 2005, ISBN 80-903465-5-3

In summer 2005 the Lithuanian publisher „Petro ofsetas” released a volume of selected poems by Jānis Rokpelnis, titled Lyrika (Lyric Poetry), in which are gathered poems from the collections “Klātbūtne” (Presence), “Zvaigzne, putna ēna un citi” (Star, Shadow of a Bird and Others), “Rīgas iedzimtais” (Native of Riga), “Vilciens no pilsētas R.” (Train from the City R.) and “Līme” (Glue). The work is bilingual, being published in Latvian and Lithuanian; the translator is Vladas Braziūnas.

Moscow publishing house Agro-Risk has released Marts Pujats’ book of poetry, “Two-Starred Churches”, in Latvian and Russian (translated by Aleksandrs Zapoļs) as part of its New World Poetry series. The concept of the book came to Marts Pujats when he was a participant in the second international Moscow Poetry Biennale in 2001; and the book “Two-Starred Churches” is currently the fourth publication in the New World Poetry series. The creation of the book was supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation.

One of the biggest publishers in Finland, Like, has released Paul Bankovskis’ novel Cheka, Bombs & Rock’n’ Roll (published in Riga by Valters and Rapa, 2002). The novel was translated by Linda Praulina and has already drawn widespread attention in the Finnish press due to its accurate use of idiom and fascinating portrayal of the time period - there are very few books available in Finland about the Baltic countries and their recent history when part of the Soviet Union. The word play of the title of the novel with the parallel slogan of the times, “sex, drugs & rock n’roll” has also been noted. The title in Finnish, Kyttiä, paukkuja ja rokenrollia (Sleuths, Explosions and Rock’n’Roll), does not accurately render the original meaning. Kytät is the term for the Latvian secret police, and paukut can mean explosions/bombs or fear of war. The phrase rock ’n roll in turn may symbolize freedom – or the lack of it.

Reactions in the Finnish press:

“The result is indeed unexpectedly captivating when material used in portrayal to remind one of an epoch, begins to branch out and live its own life – and this is primarily because as a historian, Paul Bankovskis has a magical touch. Skillfully and as if unintentionally he drops into the text historical turning points – the public disclosure of AIDS and Leonid Brezhnev’s death, the toppling of the Berlin Wall – and spotlights these events from the viewpoint of several people. Especially with the announcement of the death of the party leader and the rumors that unravel the truth from hidden facts, Bankovskis develops smoking variations.”
Hannu Martila, Helsingin Sanomat

”Bankovskis simultaneously weaves together and reveals the separate lives of the main characters; the muddle of rumors, fears, despondency and absurdity existing in the world behind the iron curtain during the years from 1978-1989. To those of us who have lived in ”the merciless jungle of capitalism”, this world is hard to imagine.”
from Helsingin Sanomat

“The writer wishes to remind the people of his country who grow sentimental with nostalgia for Soviet times, of what yesterday was like. The novel, which tells of the years from 1978-79 and 1982-89, is built upon the onset of the changeover, the destinies of several oppressed people living among crumbling walls. The authentic dialogue and pithy wording of the novel carry the reader away, to be held within the power of this spellbinding period of history until the very last page.”
from Aamulehti

The Latvian short story anthology titled Skin the Color of Amber (Cette peau couleour d’ambre), published by Presses Universitaires de Caen, was released in November 2004 during the festival Les Boréales at Caen, France dedicated to Latvian culture. Work by seven Latvian prose writers is included in it - Regīna Ezera, Gundega Repše, Eva Rubene, Andra Neiburga, Nora Ikstena, Inga Ābele and Rūta Mežavilka. The introduction to the book was written by Nicolas Auzenneau and Anta Lazareva. The stories were translated from Latvian into French by Astra Skrābane, Nicolas Auzenneau, Inta Šmite, Inta Geile, Henri Menantaud, Céline Jartoux, Ginta Grīnberga and Sarmīte Madžule. The editor was Nicolas Auzenneau.

Blackberry Books with a special support by Garry Lawless has just published The Skylark Will Come, a bilingual collection of poems (Latvian/English) by the late Latvian poet Janis Baltvilks. The translation to English was done by Rita Laima Berzins. The collection has been illustrated by the photogaphies by Andris Eglītis.

Lithuanian Publishing House„Lietuvos rašytojų sąjungos leidykla” has published selected poems Aš esu toli viešėjęs / Es pabiju tālos ciemos (2004) by Knuts Skujenieks both in Latvian and in Lithuanian. Lithuanian translation was done by Vladas Braziūnas, Sigitas Geda and Jonas Strielkūnas. The poetry selection contains poems from the year 1963 – 2003.

3 x Lettland

Swedish Publishing House Ariel has published three books under the common title 3 x Lettland. These are poetry collections by Latvian poets Inguna Jansone, Jānis Elsbergs and Edvīns Raups, translated into Swedish by Juris Kronbergs. The presentation of the recently published books will be held during the Göteborg Book Fair, September 25-29. Three authors, translator and publisher will be present, as well. Poetry readings of all the three authors will be organised also in other Swedish cities.

www.ariel.nu

Jānis Elsbergs. Daugavaboulevarden, Ariel Skrifter, Tollarp, 2003, ISBN – 91-974202-3-9
Inguna Jansone. Fladdermussyndromet, Ariel Skrifter, Tollarp, 2003, ISBN – 91-974202-4-9
Edvīns Raups. tillred mig något obeständigt, Ariel Skrifter, Tollarp, 2003, ISBN – 91-974202-5-5