L I T E R A T U R E

Selections of their recent poetry are offered by Anda Līce, Lelde Logina, Iveta Šimkus, Laima Ābele, Leons Jūlijs Strupītis, Māra Ulme and Gvido Drage (Redžinals Grikmanis).

Prose compositions are by Džena Andersone, Lāsma Gaitniece, Renāte Mālmane and Rolanda Bula.

Dagnija Dreika puts into Latvian selected French language poems by Belgian poet Odilon-Jean Périer (1901-1928).

Agnese Zarāne offers a segment of a larger prose composition in the making, to be published under the title Dezorganizētā (The Disorganised One).

 

H I ST O R Y

Agnija Lesničenoka is a historian at the National Archives of Latvia, specializing in the study and popularization of the documentary testament of the Latvian diaspora. Her article “Jaunā Gaita is 70” focuses on the founding of our magazine in 1955 under the leadership of Valters Nollendorfs, whose words she quotes:  “The magnitude of the role played by Jaunā Gaita [in the global upheavals of the last 70 years] is difficult to assess, but the fact that Jaunā Gaita has lasted so long … speaks for itself.”

Ojārs Spārītis, professor of art history at The Art Academy of Latvia, specializes in the study of the sacral and renaissance culture of Northern Europe, and the protection and restoration of its heritage. His article “The Ethnological Aspect of the Art of Ernests Ansulis (1910-1989)”, is a segment of a larger work, Photographer in the Fields…, soon to be published. Three photographs taken by Ansulis in Kurzeme, Latvia in the early 1930’s are featured.

Jānis Zālītis is a historian of literature and doctor of philology, author of numerous studies and commentaries. His article “Two Songs About the White Rose, or the ‘Swan Mother’ in the Nest of the Zaļvārnieši” is about the society Zaļā vārna (The Green Crow), founded in 1925, which united much of the talent in graphic art and literature of Latvia at the time.

 

T H E A T E R

Theater critic Atis Rozentāls reviews five books shedding light on the recent history of Latvian theater: a collection of interviews with graduates of Jaunatnes teātris (Theater of Youth) by Lenvija Sīle; reminiscences on the career of director Varis Brasla (b. 1939), recorded by Lauris Gundars; a book of recollections by actor Ēvalds Valters, (1894-1994); and illustrated accounts of the lives of director Ansis Rūtentāls (1949-2000) by Guna Bīriņa, and actress Astrīda Kairiša (1941-2021) by Ieva Struka.

 

V I S U A L   A R T

Dace Micāne Zālīte recounts a performance by folklorist Ilga Reizniece together with tapestry artist Iveta Vecenāne at the current exhibition Pļava (Pasture) of Vecenāne’s tapestries at The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Rīga. The cover of this issue is a sample of Vecenāne’s art.

Dace Micāne Zālīte describes an exhibition she curated for Boston-based sculptor Gints Grinbergs, titled Pārdzimšana (Rebirth), at The Ojārs Vācietis Museum in Rīga.

JG art editor Linda Treija gives an account of the conferring of the prestigious Baltic Award this year on May 13 to the duo of porcelain artists Ingūna Skuja and Melisa Braden (Skuja Braden).

 

B O O K   R E V I E W S

Viesturs Vecgrāvis reviews Pēclaiks (Afterlife) by Lita Silova, a monograph on the life of writer Kārlis Skalbe (1879-1945),

Sanita Dāboliņa: Pirms vējš atpūtīs rītdienas pelnus (Before the Wind Brings Tomorrow’s Ashes), a novel by Ikars Piebalgs,

Kristaps Vecgrāvis: Kur tu biji (Where Were You). short stories by Rvīns Varde,

Eva Mārtuža: Izdzīvojušie (The Survivors), poems by Dainis Deigelis, and

Jūlija Dibovska: Dzīvs! (Alive!), a novel by Osvalds Sebris.