Maketa fails - Jura Žagariņa mājas lapas

LETTERS AND THE VISUAL ARTS. Different,
atypical, unique, original, a shatterer of
convention, e.e. cummingsesque … Maija
Meirāne introduces Edvīns Raups as a poet
whose flamboyantly changeling style is his
essence: one would miss the point by seeking
plain sense in his onomatopoeic inventions
and surrealistic word play. Raups himself
insists that, in order to be fully appreciated,
his 26 short poems offered here need
to be presented just as they were composed
– spoken out loud in his own voice and in
the order in which they are given. Recently,
an English edition of his poems Then Touch
Me Here was published in Canada. •••
In short prose compositions, Juris Rozītis
and Agnese Matisone describe incidents
of human contact, random, fleeting, poignant
and profound. ••• Visual art from
Svens Lūkins and Baiba Baiba is introduced
by JG art editors Voldemārs Avens
and Linda Treija. A color portrait of artist
Voldemārs Dārznieks (1926-2010) is by
Richards Luikis. ••• Sarma Muižniece-
Liepiņa shares her impressions of an exhibit
of art photography by Anita Līcis-Ribak
in Northampton, Massachusetts, Marita
Batņa reports on the 53rd annual Latvian
arts festival in Melbourne, Australia, and
Ilze Šēnberga-Nāgela reviews an exhibit of
Ieva Deksne’s art, also in Melbourne.
LITERARY COMMENT. In Kultūra un latvietība
(Culture and Latvianness, 2010), the
former president of Latvia (1999-2007)
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga challenges her nation
to face reality and, above all, to strive for
excellence. Irēne Avena reports that it is a
book of bitter lessons and a worthy testament,
especially for our young generation.
••• Tough, tenacious, enduring almost to
the point of being compulsively obsessive –
Juris Šlesers chooses words carefully to describe
the character of the Latgallian philologist
Vladislavs Lōcis (1912-1984), one of
the few Latgallians who persevered in protecting
and preserving the regional idiom of
Eastern Latvia in the face of the larger threat
to the Latvian language from russification
under the Soviets. ••• University of Latvia
(Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art)
researcher Dr. Eva Eglāja-Kristsone concludes
her study of cultural contacts during
the Cold War between the literary establishment
in Soviet occupied Latvia, and Latvian
writers who had fled to Western Europe and
North America.
HISTORY AND ACTUALITIES. Writer and curator
of the Riga Museum of Literature and
Music, Andrejs Grāpis, brings to light some
interesting facts about early post-WWII contacts
between Soviet Latvian functionaries
and Latvians in exile. ••• We continue
our celebration of Latvia’s emergence from
the Soviet “prison of nations” 20 years ago
with a poem by our former editor Andrejs
Gunars Irbe (1924-2004) and photographs
taken by Jānis Buls, Andris Eglītis and
Rolfs Ekmanis during the “days of the barricades”.
••• The topic of conversation
in the Kiberkambaris column is a threat
by Jakovs Pliners, head of PCTVL, a political
party which, to a large extent, speaks
on behalf of the Russian minority in Latvia,
to unleash a revolution, should the government
require that all instruction in publicly
financed schools be in the state language,
Latvian: … do you want to look out the window
and see Libya and Egypt? ••• The
title of the section Dažos vārdos (In a Few
Words) has, in the past, been translated
here as Marginalia, but it is hardly marginal.
It is a dense and scrupulously edited summary
of information and actualities societal,
cultural, and political, all centrally important
to Latvian readers everywhere. ••• This
year’s recipient of the award established in
the memory of JG long-time associate editor
Jānis Bieriņš (1908-1987) is our own contributing
editor Vita Gaiķe. In an interview
she reveals that she is a biologist by profession
and an equestrian athlete. ••• Prose
writer and playwright Laimonis Purs criticizes
the tendency by some Latvian cultural
leaders to devote themselves to nit-picking
in the thick coat of the past, and urges them
instead to help lay a foundation for healthy
patriotism in the realities of the present.
BOOK REVIEWS. Indra Gubiņa’s travel
memoirs Vēlreiz turp un atpakaļ (Once
More Out and Back) – reviewed by Astra
Roze • Aina Zemdega’s Raksti (Collected
Works) and Rolf Michaelis’ Letten in der
Ordnungspolizei und Waffen-SS 1940-1945
– both reviewed by Juris Silenieks • Ilse
Zandstra’s memoir The Amber Coast: A
Latvian Family’s Journey – Juris Dreifelds •
Nikolajs Bulmanis’ essays on Latvian émigré
artists No vienas puses tā... (On the One
Hand Thus...) – Voldemārs Avens • Juris
Urtāns’ Kalnā bija stalta pils (A Shining
Castle on the Hill), a report of archeological
research at 58 of Latvia’s ancient fort
sites – Marģers Grīns • Literary quarterly
Latvju Teksti (Latvian Texts – Winter 2010) –
Rolfs Ekmanis • Journal of Baltic Studies
(December 2010) – Gundars Ķeniņš Kings.
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