Latvian Literature

“Stitches to make dresses”, begins Latvian distaff spindle 389.
“A stack apart for money”, begins distaff spindle 386.
“Speech of heddles, Goddess with us, Goddess with us, Goddess with us, from our knit-mill”, begins the song on distaff spindle 390.
In 1907, linguist and historian August Johann Gottfried Bielenstien published a book to illustrate old wooden things he had found in Latvia, from houses to tools, and how these were made and decorated.
He included pages of House Marks and Owners Marks culled from his drawings. Three elaborately carved distaff spindles caught his eye as a possible extension of this mysterious writing system. These can now be deciphered from Old European syllabary, first proposed by Marija Gimbutas of Lithuania, plus a Finnish dictionary.

What the collection of poems “Beginning and End” and the novel in verse “Dagda’s Five Sketchbooks” have in common is the presence of author’s voice and a delicately formed composition, imparting to the poetry a particular dimension of subjectivity. The hero of the poetry is an individual – outsider, typically described by the constellation of authors of early modernism. This hero expresses Rainis’ experience, philosophical and esthetic ideas and represents a generalization of a strong personality. The two collections differ in their compositions as well as in the presence of a psychological aspect and elements of narrative in “Dagda’s Five Sketchbooks”. Both collections testify to the synthesis of literary trends characteristic of Rainis’ poetry.
The poetic texture of the collection “End and Beginning” is multi-layered since the actual addressee is the poet himself. The collection has been built up as self-analysis, as wish to define ideal individuals of an ideal society. “Dagda’s Five Sketchbooks” enhance the understanding about Rainis’ divided identity. Rainis was torn between the identities of a writer and a politician.
Among other collections “Dagda’s Sketchbooks” stands out by giving a mention of little known to the Latvian reader and therefore exotic southern landscapes – landscapes of Switzerland and Italy. The associative list of images quite untypical (exotic) of the perception of the Latvians is supplemented with the use of southern flora elements. The use of color semantics and choice of persons’ names are also original. Women’s names used to characterize segments of multi-faceted feminine nature of Olīvija – Irīda, Olīvija, Andžolīna – sound to the Latvian reader though unusual, but harmonious words which impart to verse additional musicality, charm, mysteriousness and captivate by their otherness.

Dzejoļu krājumu “Gals un sākums” un romānu dzejoļos “Dagdas piecas skiču burtnīcas” vieno autora balss klātbūtne un smalki veidota kompozīcija, piešķirot dzejai īpašu subjektivitātes dimensiju. Lirikas varonis ir agrīnā modernisma autoru plejādei raksturīgais indivīds – ārpusnieks, kas izsaka Raiņa pieredzi, filozofiskas un estētiskas pārdomas, un spēcīgas personības vispārinājumu. Krājumus atšķir kompozicionālais risinājums, kā arī psiholoģisma klātbūtne un naratīva elementi “Dagdas piecās skiču burtnīcās”. Abi krājumi apliecina Raiņa dzejai raksturīgo literatūras virzienu sintēzi.
Krājumam “Gals un sākums” ir daudzslāņaina poētiskā faktūra, jo faktiski adresāts ir pats dzejnieks. Krājums veidots kā pašanalīze, vēlme definēt ideālas sabiedrības ideālus indivīdus. “Dagdas piecu skiču burtnīcas” paspilgtina izpratni par Raiņa šķelto identitāti. Rainis svārstījās starp rakstnieka un politiķa identitātēm.
Citu krājumu vidū “Dagdas burtnīcas” izceļas ar latviešu lasītājam mazpazīstamu, tāpēc eksotisku dienvidu ainavas pieminējumu – Šveices un Itālijas ainavas reālijām. Latvieša uztverei netipisku (eksotisku) tēlu asociatīvo rindu papildina arī dienvidu floras elementu izmantojums. Oriģinalitāte vērojama arī krāsu semantikas lietojumā un personvārdu izvēlē. Olīvijas sievišķās daudzšķautņainības segmentu raksturojumam izmantotie sieviešu personvārdi Irīda, Olīvija, Andžolīna ir latviešu lasītājam svešādi, bet labskanīgi vārdi, kas sniedz dzejai papildu muzikalitāti, šarmu, noslēpumainību, valdzina ar citādību.

In the Latvian literature the motifs of dream and night are without doubt the most popular, exposed and expanded. "Wannem Ymanta" (1802) by Garlieb Merkel (1769–1850) is the first literary work in which the meaning of these words is far more wide than the simple definitional meaning and thanks to what they became national symbols and has contributed to the development of Latvian literature. In Merkel's book one can find a section, which definitely doesn't fit into the whole story. This is a description of the terrifying prophetic vision (it seems that it has been added into an already completed book just before publication, shortly after Alexander I came to the throne on 24 March 1801) dreamed by the main character named Ymanta at night, after which the fate of the Latvian nation is destined to be fulfilled. Before the eyes of the sleeping Ymanta pictures illustrating the fate of Latvians – from the thirteenth century to 1801, one after another, are moving and, like in Adam Mickiewicz's Dziady. Part III, resonating as " the huge cry for a miracle " or " resurrection of the nation " (Wientraub 1982: 203). The aim of this paper is to present this extraordinary Preromanticism dreamed vision, that in the darkness of the night reveals the Past and forecast the Future of Latvians.

The article analyses a classic Latvian short story „The Battle near Knipska“ by Jānis Poruks. The storry has been included in the lists of compulsory (or recommended) readings for primary and secondary schools during most of the time since 1920s. The main character Cibins is often perceived and presented to the pupils as the symbol of peacefulness and non-aggression. By that Cibins is often used in popular discourse as an example of the peaceful aspirations in Latvian culture. While the story is fictional, it has two links to the Latvian reality – first it depicts quite well the realities of schools in Latvia both in late 19th century and now and, second, as a role setting example it has influenced generations of Latvians. This article uses the story as an ethnographic text and sets out to ask how peaceful in fact is Cibins and the environment in which he lives. By comparing cross-cultural anthropological data about peaceful societies, the article argues that in fact neither Cibins nor the environment in which he lives are peaceful or capable of peaceful life. On the contrary – the whole structure of the society and its institutions are characteristic of societies that are oriented more towards education of violent and individualistic characters. By the way of extrapolating the conclusions to contemporary Latvia, the article also argues that contemporary Latvian society is similarly geared to violence and individualism which may obstruct developmental efforts of the society.

This paper examines travels outside the Soviet Union by Latvian writers who were recognised by the occupation regime and acclaimed by the public during the Brezhnev era –from the 1960s into the 1980s – as one of the privileges enjoyed by the so-called creative intelligentsia, and how those travels were reflected in their literary and journalistic writings.

The writers studied were born between 1910 and 1939 and can be seen as belonging to three different generations. The generational differences have a significant impact on how their experiences were treated in their works. Some of the texts considered in this paper are manifestations of their authors’ authentic creativity, whilst others exhibit obeisance to the status quo of their time and obligatory praise for the regime. But can a line between the two be clearly drawn? What were the goals and possibilities for travel among recognized and materially secure writers? What were they permitted to tell those readers who had no such travel opportunities? How did the notes they published in periodicals differ from the versions that later appeared in books?

The methodological basis for this paper is the work of Alexei Yurchak, a Russian-born American anthropologist who provides a unique understanding of the concept of ‘the abroad’ (заграница) in the Soviet Union as demarcating not actual borders or territory but an imagined space, and the insights of the Canadian historian Anne E. Gorsuch about Soviet tourism abroad. Gorsuch has studied how Soviet citizens internalised Soviet norms and supported Soviet goals, but also the attempts by tourists to evade official constraints on their experience in foreign lands and how they sought to devise their own individual itineraries. Journeys abroad elicited conflicting emotions. Writers had to be comparatively affluent to travel, but they often experienced humiliation when confronted with the reality of their meager financial means outside the U.S.S.R. and the fact that they remained in durance even in the free world. Versions of their writings published in the post-Soviet period and later commentaries bear witness to episodes that could not be described in the Brezhnev era as well as self-censorship.

Edvarts Virza Kopsavilkums Ideoloģisko uzstādījumu komunicēšanā nozīmīga loma ir viedokļu līderiem-sabiedrībā atpazīstamiem cilvēkiem, kam kopiena uzticas un kuru paustajām idejām ir svars sabiedrības uztverē. Edvarta Virzas daiļrade akcentē idejas, kas aktualizē dažādus ideoloģiskos konceptus, kuri gan saskan ar laikmeta valdošajiem strāvojumiem, gan ir pretrunā ar valsts varas akceptēto ideoloģiju. Kā iezīmīgi pētījumā izcelti Virzas paustie viedokļi par sociāldemokrātiju, sieviešu jautājumu, 20. gadsimta 20. gados aktuālo pretvācu noskaņojumu u. c. Virzas gadījums atklāj arī valsts varas attieksmi pret viedokļa līderiem, kuri popularizējuši varai nepieņemamus uzskatus, kā arī iezīmē laikmeta politisko procesu ietekmi uz sabiedrības attieksmi pret radošu personību un tās daiļradi.

The ground-breaking or especially difficult moments in the history of Latvia have almost always found their reflection in the literature. During each of the challenging moments an ideal hero is born, a hero ready to fight for his fatherland and nation, constituting a role model to be followed. However, Latvian writers do not create new heroes, but have been summoning the same figures for over a hundred years. The paper is going to present the stands and transformations of literary heroes – Vidvuds and Lāčplēsis – at different stages of Latvian history, as they face threats against national freedom and social integrity.

"Viņi vienmēr atgriežas. Varoņi krīzes laikam: Vidvuds un Lāčplēsis"
Lūzuma brīži, kā arī daži citi īpaši grūti momenti Latvijas vēsturē bieži atrod savu atspoguļojumu literatūrā. Katrā no šiem grūtākajiem brīžiem piedzimst ideāls varonis, kurš ir gatavs karot par savu dzimteni un tautu ,un tajā pašā laikā kļūst arī par paraugu visiem nākamajiem cīnītājiem. Tomēr latviešu rakstnieki nerada jaunus varoņus, bet jau vairāk nekā simts gadus izmanto vienus un tos pašus tēlus, piemēram, Vidvudu un Lāčplēsi. Rakstā tiek aplūkota viņu abu stāja un transformācijas dažādos Latvijas vēstures posmos, kā arī viņu īpatnējā izpratne par varonību, atbildību un pretošanās pret valsts brīvības un sabiedrības integrācijas draudiem. Raksturvārdi: latviešu literatūra, latviešu nacionālais varonis, latviešu identitāte.

Referāts veltīts atraitnībai latviešu literatūrā, šoreiz pievēršoties sieviešu tēliem un viņu izpratnei par dzīvi pēc laulātā miršanas. Izvēlējos analizēt visai plaša žanra un noskaņas darbus: Rūdolfa Blaumaņa noveli "Raudupiete" (1889), Viļa Plūdoņa poēmu "Atraitnes dēls" (1901), Andreja Upīša komēdiju "Atraitnes vīrs" (1925), Dagnijas Zigmontes stāstu "Zēberga atraitne" (no stāstu krājuma "Strazdu vakars" (1976)) un Janas Egles stāstus "Pīle" un "Aleksandra ir skaista" (no stāstu krājuma "Dzimšanas diena" (2020)). Aiz simboliskas svītras palika Andra Kolberga romāns "Atraitne janvārī" (1984), jo nosaukums ir maldinošs un atraitnības analīzei šis darbs izrādījās gandrīz pilnīgi nepiemērots. Jāpiezīmē, ka arī atraitnis kā tēls būtu visai saistošas un neatklātas latviešu literatūras teritorijas elements, tomēr šis apskats ir pelnījis atsevišķu pētījumu.

Pētījuma mērķis ir mēģināt pārvērtēt līdz šim aktuālo pieeju – Jāņa Poruka garstāstu “Pērļu zvejnieks” uztvert un analizēt tikai kā reālpsiholoģisku darbu. No tā izriet tas, ka pētījuma galvenie uzdevumi ir klasificēt J. Poruka domāšanu kā “filozofisku”, skatīt minēto darbu kā autora pasauluzskata (autora subjektīvā realitātes tvēruma) dokumentāciju un fiksēt šo pasauluzskatu veidojošos konceptus un likumsakarības starp tiem. Pētījumā tiks apskatīti arī galvenie J. Poruka ietekmes avoti, tādi filozofi un rakstnieki kā Platons, I. Kants, J. G. Fihte, J. V. Gēte, A. Šopenhauers un R. Vāgners, uz kuriem J. Poruks pats norādījis savās filozofiska rakstura esejās vai kuru filozofisko koncepciju nospiedumi skaidri nojaušami “Pērļu zvejniekā”. Tādiem iepriekšminēto autoru konceptiem kā ideja, ideāls, griba, u.c., kas dažkārt tiešā un dažkārt modificētā veidā parādās “Pērļu zvejniekā” pievienojas arī J. Poruka oriģinālkoncepti, piemēram, pērles vai mīlestība, kas minētā pasauluzskata sistēmas ietvaros tiek definēti ļoti J. Poruka personīgā veidā.

Рахно К.Ю. Арфа Сырдона: западноевропейские параллели //  Коста и мировой историко-культурный процесс. Сборник материалов Международной конференции,  посвященной 155-летию со дня рождения  К.Л. Хетагурова. – Владикавказ: ИПЦ СОИГСИ ВНЦ РАН и РСО-А, 2014. – С. 268–292.

The Prussian Protestant Daniel Hermann is an important Neo-Latin poet. He lived from probably 1543 until 1601. Hermann studied at Königsberg, Straßburg, Basel (probably also Ingolstadt and Heidelberg) and Wittenberg. Afterwards he served as a secretary at the Imperial Court at Vienna, later as a secretary of the city of Danzig and permanent ambassador of Danzig at the Royal Polish court during the wars against Russia. After the war he married and settled down in Riga and became the secretary of the Polish governor Cardinal Radziwil and later of the general Georg Fahrensbach. Besides lots of poems on academical, political and private occasions he wrote letters in poetic form as well as theological, philosophical and political poems.
This paper provides an overview over Hermann’s life and his poetry, especially the poems written and published in Riga, and a short summary of the research on this poet.

Teodor Narbutt’s “Lithuanian Mythology” as a Source of
Inspiration for Juris Alunāns
In this paper the author analyzes and compares five texts on Latvian mythology by Juris
Alunāns with Lithuanian historian Teodor Narbutt’s book “Lithuanian Mythology” (“Mitologia
litewska”, 1835). In the 19th century it was the most important book for scholars, writers, and
archaeology lovers who were interested in this subject. The article attempts to prove that
Alunāns had read this book and used it to create a new world of Latvian deities and demons.
It seems Alunāns found the book a much more important source of information about the
Latvian past than the Baltic German publications (for example, J. Lange, J. G. Stender). From
the voluminous and detailed Narbutt’s book, Alunāns had chosen and translated only those
myths and descriptions of deities which had been particularly interesting and inspiring to
him. A vast majority of Juris Alunāns’ articles is nothing more but a compilation of Teodor
Narbutt’s book.

Since the middle of 19th century till the beginnings of Modernism, within almost fifty years, Latvian literature has seen a rapid development; absorbing the lessons from European – mostly, German – examples, from the first awkward attempts, through the period of national awakening, the era of Romantic alarm and the narrative of Realism, it has risen to reflection of new age in terms of the system of Modernist images. The first examples of Modernist poetry are found in periodicals alongside works, which have now become classical, light reading matter trendy at the time, translations of already recognized works of poets representing European Modernism, and the reviews of current landmarks of European literature of that time.

Enthält:
1. Ilze Šķipsnas „Neapsolītās zemes“: Ein modernistischer Roman. Das ästhetische Konzept des Romans im Vergleich zu dem von James Joyce „Ulysses“ sowie Ansätze zu einem allegorischen Verständnis des Romans. (Regensburg 1995.)
2. Warum wir Gedanken lesen können; Das Bild des Baumes in Ilze Šķipsnas „Neapsolītās zemes“ (Acta Baltica 34 (1996) 279–299).
3. Himmel und Erde, Stadt und Land (Natur): Nora Ikstenas „Lidojošā pasaka“ und Helēna Dāles „Vēja pieskāriens“ und „Riņķa dēja“ (Acta Baltica 35 (1997) 297–323).
4. Der zweite Versuch die lettische Lyrik zu folklorisieren: Jānis Medenis’ volkstümliche Strophen und die Erforschung der Daina-Metrik in der 30er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts (Nordost–Archiv. Zeitschrift für Regionalgeschichte N.F. 8:2 (1999) 443–481).
5. Das Bild des Kahlschlags in Blaumanis’ "Indrāni" (1904) und Čechovs "Višnëvyj sad" (1904) (Erstveröffentlichung auf Deutsch).
6. Was sieht man durch einen Schleier? Zu Aspazijas Drama "Sidraba šķidrauts" (Der Baltistenkreis zu Berlin e.V. und seine Vorgängereinrichtung. Frankfurt/Main 2015, S. 80–84).

A lot of writers, academic researchers and publicists recognized in Latvia have written gastronomic texts. The year of 2012 is the culmination of gastronomic texts. This year and about this time, academic research on the vocabulary of culinary heritage in Latvia, as well as cookery books by writers and prominent people have been published. Actually, the latter are not instructions in culinary but rather narratives about interesting personalities, recipes given by classics of Latvian literature or their relations, which have been prepared for publication by the literature museum workers. In these publications, gastronomic texts are a point of reference for the evaluation of the contemporary Latvian geopolitical and sociocultural situation. In the editions of this hybrid genre a special importance has to be attached to its visual design.
Keywords: gastronomic texts, postmodernism culture, “lower” or pop culture, “higher” culture, hybridization

Aspazijas proza, piemēram, novele “Cīņa par nākamību”, ir lasītājiem mazāk zināma, tomēr šis teksts precīzi atklāj Aspazijas pasaulsuzskatu daiļrades sākumposmā. Novele veidota romantisma tradīcijā, centrā izvirzot sieviešu emancipācijas tēmu, kas dominē pār sižeta izstrādi. Autore veido shematisku vēstījumu un tipizētu tēlu sistēmu, izvēlas radīt sižeta kāpinājumu, konceptuālā uzstādījumā parādot nelabvēlīgās vides vēršanos pret sievieti.
Novele rakstīta romantisma un reālisma sadures laikmetā – līdzās romantisma vientuļajai, nesaprastajai, mūžīgos meklējumos esošajai varonei parādās laikmeta tēlojums, vides un cilvēka dabas radītais determinisms. Novelē precīzi saskatāms, kā sieviete šā laikmeta literārajos darbos no objekta pārtop darbību virzošā subjektā.
Sieviešu emancipācijas tēmai pievēršas vairāki gadsimtu mijas autori, piemēram, Andrievs Niedra, Augusts Deglavs, Haralds Eldgasts u. c. Tēmu sabalsojums saskatāms arī vēlākā Aspazijas daiļradē, jo spilgti romānā “Rudens lakstīgala”.

Gastropoētika kā pētniecības metode, ņemot talkā arī sociālo un dabas zinātņu pētījumu secinājumus, ļauj literāro tekstu skatīt padziļināti, atklājot tēlu psiholoģiskā tēlojuma cēloņseku sakarību pamatotību un nianses, rast nozīmes zemslāņus daudzveidīgākām literārā teksta interpretācijas iespējām. Andreja Upīša novelē “Maize” (1914) tēlotie trešās klases vilciena vagona pasažieri ir Rietumu sabiedrības mikromodelis, kurā tieši ēdiens, dalīšanās ar to vai tā liegšana precīzi atklāj gan kopienas hierarhisko struktūru un sociālā slāņa spektrālās atšķirības, gan cilvēka uzvedības principus, kas balstās gadu tūkstošu laikā veidotā tradīcijā un ir sastatāma arī ar dzīvnieku valstī novērojamiem uzvedības principiem. Kā blakus aspekti skatāmi arī atsevišķu sociālo grupu, piemēram, veci cilvēki, mazi bērni, cittautieši, sociālās vērtības pazemināšana, šo grupu marginalizēšana, liedzot tiem izvēles vai rīcības brīvību, vienlīdzīgas balstiesības u. tml. Upīts novelē modelē nelielas situatīvas kopienas sociālo situāciju, tostarp ar ēdiena tēlu palīdzību precīzi atklājot kopienas hierarhisko struktūru, sadarbības un attiecību modeļus.

Raksturvārdi: Andrejs Upīts, gastropoētika, dalīšanās ar ēdienu, kopiena, sociālais slānis.

Food as Landmark of Social Stratification and National Belonging
Summary
Taking into account the research conclusions of social and natural sciences, gastropoetics as a research method allows to examine a literary text in depth revealing the causal relationships and nuances of psychological portrayal of characters, as well as to analyse semantic pluralism providing more diverse interpretation opportunities of a literary text. In Andrejs Upīts’s novel Maize (Bread; 1914) the portrayed passengers of the third class train wagon is a micromodel of Western society, where food, sharing the food or its denial precisely reveal the hierarchic structure of community and the differences in social stratification, as well as human behavioural principles, which are based on the tradition that has evolved over thousands of years and can also be cross-compared with the behavioural principles observable among animals. Other aspects include social undermining of certain social groups, for instance, old people, children, foreigners, as well as marginalisation of these groups denying them the freedom of choice or action, equal rights, etc. Upīts in his novel constructs a social situation of a small community, accurately revealing the hierarchic structure, as well as collaboration and relationship models of the community.

Keywords: Andrejs Upīts, gastropoetics, sharing food, community, social class.

Projection of Self-Identification and Modernity in
Latvian Literature of the Turn of the 19th–20th Centuries

The issue of national literature identity is a complex problem that is related to a comparison
of the discourses of culture and social anthropology. Literary identity is a system
of codes that may be referred to only one concrete national culture and expresses both its
canonical features and characterizes the processes in the periphery of literature. Literary
identity is changing in time. It depends on the writers’ poetic style and affects the culture
understanding of readers.
Self-identification of Latvian culture consists of many segments that at different
stages of history determine the attitude towards the perception of other cultures. The multilayered
identity was conditioned by the complex historical processes related to the state
territory and the lengthy incorporation of parts of the territory of Latvia in various state
formations, from which Germany and Russian Empire as well as Poland and Sweden were
the ones that left the most significant impact on the identity formation of Latvia. The impact
of these countries and their cultures greatly determined the development of the model of
Latvian culture identity and self-identification.
Due to the uneven quality of Latvian modernist texts, in the evaluation of literary
genesis modernity as a totality of thematic and formal textual alterations is a productive
means to locate the indicators of the process of transformation of poetics and narrative.
Under the influence of modernity the writers of the 19th–20th centuries produced in their
works many features of the loss of illusions characteristic of the modernist expression:
scepticism towards the notion of the truth, the individual’s sense of loss in modernity and
the historically conditioned pessimism towards life along with the understanding that
modern world has suffered a spiritual crisis and culture fragmentation. In the ways that
characterize the historical dissatisfaction of modernism and its artistic rejuvenation, writers
draw literary impulses from mythology, dissolve personality in several selves. Convey
immoral or destructive and authoritarian Nietzschean concepts.
Features of modernity in Latvian literature, its direct or indirect acceptance or criticism
occur in the works by almost all writers of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modernist
literature turns to discussion of the role of art and artist, regarding the peculiarities of the
industrial world and focuses on alienation between generations and genders.
Pašidentifikācijas un modernitātes projekcija 19.–20. gadsimta mijas latviešu literatūrā 59
The works by three writers of two generations of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries
regarded in the present paper cause difficulty in identifying their belonging to a particular
literary trend as in the thematic addressed to Latvian readership the writers encoded novel
or even provoking poetical signs topical at that time. R. Blaumanis (1863–1908) represents
the mature generation of that time. In a laconic language, by using the devices of narrative
focalization determined by modernity, Blaumanis depicted symbolic rites of the change
of epochs against the background of seemingly routine events of the everyday life of that
time. J. Jaunsudrabiņš (1877–1962) and F. Bārda (1880–1919) in 1911 published works
saturated with aesthetic innovations in expression and poetics. Blaumanis’ play “Indrāni”,
Bārda’s collection of poems “Zemes dēls” (The Son of the Earth) and Jaunsudrabiņš’
collection of sketches “Kolorēti zīmējumi” (Coloured Drawings) are united by a polyphony
of styles and expression that had been formed under the impact of Western, mainly
German culture studies.

The development of travel writing in a national literature is closely related to the
geographical and mental cartography that characterizes that territory. This article
investigates Latvian travelogues of the Soviet era as encounters with other nations
within the Soviet empire in order to analyze the role of Latvian travel writings in
shaping a feeling of belonging to the empire. In addition to fostering obedience and
a sense of belonging to the Soviet empire during the first 15 oppressive years of the
Soviet regime, Latvian travelogues of the later years represented the Soviet empire
as a conflictual site of the destruction of traditional values and landscapes.

Since the direct heir of the Indo-European Dawn-goddess, Austra, is only attested a few times in a mythological context in the Latvian folk songs, it is another Latvian goddess, Māra, who deserves our attention if we want to find surviving inherited Indo-European poetic formulae characteristic of the Dawn. Her relation to gold, to Heaven’s doors, to  reddish cows and to the morning leaves little, if any, doubt that Māra is indeed the Latvian Dawn-goddess, beside Austra.

20. gadsimta sākumā latviešu jaunās paaudzes literātiem apgūstot jaunās – modernisma – literatūras principus, par vienu no balsta tēliem kļūst jaunā tipa sievietes tēls – tā ir seksuāli aktīva, pat agresīva sieviete, kura apzinās savu seksualitāti kā spēku. Šā tēla iezīmīgi atveides principi redzami gan sievietes uzvedības un apģērba, gan viņas sociālā lomas un stāvokļa un garīgās pasaules aprakstos. Jaunā tipa sievietes tiek atainotas kā grēcīgas sievietes, kas pārkāpj sabiedrības normas.

Literary Picture of Baltic Gods in the Works of Lithuanian, Latvian and Polish Authors of the 19th Century

Mythological motives that were used in the works of the authors of romanticism are taken from historical sources or are author-made. One of the most common motives in
Lithuanian, Latvian and Polish literature is the world of Baltic Gods, pagan temples, oracles, various rituals and fests. The center is formed of Gods, the appearance of
which is often unfamiliar, mysterious and fantasy evoking. The appearance of highest Prussian Gods, which is described in fiction, especially in drama, is often changed, and the image of other beings is created according to their functions, activity and cared areas. The faces of Gods that are related to pleasures and delights are nice, beautiful, their eyes seem to be smiling, and the faces of those related to chthonic area were throwing lightning and disseminated fear. As it is seen from the gathered material, the partition into beautiful-nice and ugly-angry Gods is very clear and recurrent, especially in dramatic works. Beautiful Gods are related to life, delight, love, while ugly Gods are related to death, misfortune and vault; beautiful Gods are "own", and ugly Gods are "strange". In most cases beauty is not directly described in specific words, but rather emphasized with properly reflected surroundings, and is seen only in comparison to the outer image of land and vault areas.

Główną bohaterką składających się na powieść Māry Zālīte "Pięć palców" ("Pieci pirksti") 55 opowiadań jest Laura, córka zesłanych na Syberię Łotyszy, która w wieku pięciu lat powraca wraz z nimi do domu obarczona pokaźnym bagażem wspomnień i niełatwych dla dziecka doświadczeń. Historia Laury jednocześnie jest i nie jest historią urodzonej w rodzinie zesłańców w Kraju Krasnojarskim samej pisarki, która dopiero teraz odważyła się obnażyć duszę, opowiedzieć o swoim trudnym powrocie i zakorzenianiu w Łotewskiej Socjalistycznej Republice Radzieckiej końca lat 50. Māra Zālīte, opowiadając o sobie i swoich najbliższych, jednocześnie identyfikuje się i dystansuje od bohaterki, której zmysłami przekazuje wydarzenia jednego, niezmiernie intensywnego w rozmaite doznania lata poprzedzającego jej pójście do szkoły. Nie są to jednak beztroskie wspomnienia z dzieciństwa, ale przeplatające się z surową przeszłością niepoddane cenzurze obrazki z radzieckiej rzeczywistości, które wywołują uśmiech rozmywany przez łzy. Tytuł powieści odczytywać można wielorako: to pięć lat życia Laury, to stara jabłoń o pięciu konarach układających się w otulającą dłoń, na których dziewczynka buduje swój domek, to pięć połamanych palców śpiewaczki, a w końcu – o pobycie na Syberii nie można pisnąć ani słówkiem, bo przecież skończyłoby się to pochwyceniem przez psiogłowca i odesłaniem z powrotem – to jasne jak pięć palców.

The study of Ibsen’s and Hamsun’s works in
different stages of development Latvian culture is an attempt to get
closer to the contents of works of iconic figures in world literature,
follow their examples, as one of the ways to know oneself better and
perfect one’s artistic expression.
References

Comparative literary studies is an essential component of self-
identification for Latvian culture as that of a small nation that was formed under a powerful impact of other cultures that determined the historical and geographical situation of Latvia. Studying the phenomena of foreign literature is a good way of typological mapping of Latvian writing in the context of other
culture types and literary trends, locating foreign inf luences and recognizing the synthesis between Western and Eastern critical and theoretical thought. Interest in comparative studies or their elements is related to the tendencies of Latvian cultural policy. The end of the 19th  and the beginning of the 20
th century was the time of intense, though not systematic, studies of foreign literature. A fter Latvia gained its independence, with gradual intensification of the significance of Latvian national literature, the number
of comparative studies was reduced. However, they became more detailed
in content, manifesting the subjective attitude of the scholars and even
specific expression. In the soviet occupation period, comparative studies were
subjected to the impact of soviet ideology in their subject matter. Despite the
numerous ideological clichés, research works were published in the USSR
and Latvia at that time that defined functional paraphernalia of comparative
literary studies, introduced precise and thematically wide notions. In the
first decade of the restored independence in Latvia, no monographic studies
dedicated to comparative literature were published as scholars needed time
and learning the trends of western literature to crystallize a new mode of
speaking about comparative literature. The 21
st
century is marked by a range
of studies on literary contacts between the Latvian and other cultures. The
researchers focus on both the resonance of individual foreign writers in Latvia
and restoring the history of literary contacts with various areas in the world
culture, as well as studies on the resonance of Latvian literature in the world.
Keywords:
comparative literature studies, translation studies, literary in-
f luen ces and borrowings, reception, national literatures, small literatures,
literature of big nations, world literature, localizations, adaptations, “iconic” writer, history of Latvian literature.

Znany i często opisywany literacki motyw śpiących rycerzy wciąż nie doczekał się gruntownego omówienia w odniesieniu do literatury łotewskiej. Artykuł przedstawia pokrótce międzynarodowe aspekty legendy o śpiących rycerzach oraz jej realizacje literackie na gruncie literatury polskiej. Głównymi celami artykułu są: omówienie źródeł pochodzenia tego motywu w literaturze łotewskiej, przedstawienie kluczowych fragmentów dzieł literackich zawierających ten motyw, analiza procesu ewolucji postaci najpopularniejszych "śpiących bohaterów" łotewskiej literatury, czyli Imanty, Lāčplēsisa i Vidvudsa, od pierwszego pojawienia się ich na kartach literackich dzieł aż po czasy współczesne.
Pazīstams un bieži analizēts "dusošā bruņinieka " motīvs vēl joprojām nav atbilstoši izskatīts latviešu literatūras kontekstā. Rakstā tiek sniegts vispārējs ieskats par dusošo bruņinieku leģendu, tās starptautisko aspektu un literāro pielietošanu poļu rakstniecībā. Galvenie raksta mērķi ir: apspriest šī motīva izcelsmi latviešu literatūrā, uzrādīt visnozīmīgākos daiļdarbu fragmentus, kuri satur šo motīvu, analizēt pazīstamākos "dusošā varoņa " tēlus latviešu rakstniecībā jeb aprakstīt Imantas, Lāčplēša, Vidvuda evolūcijas procesu, sākot no to pirmās parādīšanās literatūras lappusēs līdz pat mūsdienām.

This bilingual Russian-English collection features work by four contemporary poets from the Latvian creative group Orbita: Sergej Timofejev, Artur Punte, Semyon Khanin, and Vladimir Svetlov.  The four poets are part of a larger collective based in Riga, published widely in Russian as well as Latvian translation. In his introduction, Kevin Platt states that the group transcends the boundaries of poetry with forays into video poetry and other media (xvii). This is Orbita’s first collected volume in English translation. The publication of Hit Parade is an example of a larger shift that is underway: to translate, publish, and represent in the original post-Soviet poetry broadly conceived: written in either Russian or other languages, in Russia and beyond.

1. Premessa. La restaurata indipendenza delle tre piccole repubbliche adagiate sulla costa orientale dci mar Baltico ha permesso di ricuperare all'Europa tre distinte lingue e culture finora poco conosciute c ancora spesso oggetto di confusione. I nomi di Lituania, Lettonia, Estonia, come quelli di tre orfani dimenticati dell' Europa delle nazioni, sono rimbalzati prepotenlemente alla ribalta delle cronache durante tutto il biennio [1989][1990]. Com' è noto, l'appartenenza a comuni geografie poi itiche e l'incidenza di comuni vicende storiche hanno a più riprese avvicinato queste tre nazioni invero assai diverse fra loro sia dal punto di vista etnico-linguistico che da quello culturale. ,': Il mutato stato di cose fornisce oggi l'occasione per rintracciare in queste tre culture momenti specifici della 'fortuna' oraziana che, se a prima vista possono apparire marginali nel contesto europeo, dimostrano per altro una adesione al patrimonio della cullura classica fra le più fortemente radicate e tenaci nel continente. Testimonia di ciò la pronta scelta dell' Istitmo del!' Encic lopedia Italiana che ha previ sto appositi lemmi per i tre Stati baltici nell' Enciclopedia Oraz.iana di ormai prossima pubblicazione nc1la ricorrenza dell'anniversario del poeta. In effetti la presenza di Orazio nelle culture baltiche, aldilà di alcune menzioni precedenti, rimonta al XVI secolo, quando fioriscono le prime imitazioni nel contesto della cultura umanistica e rinascimcntale: essa non è venuta meno neppure durante il Risorgimento delle nazioni baltiche (secc. XVIU-XIX), ed è stata particolarmente viva all'epoca dell'indipendenza fra le due guerre U918-1941) per proseguire inintenottamente fin dentro l'epoca sovietica (l945~1990) c mantenersi ancora vivace ai giorni nostri. Può essere perciò interessante osservare quanto e come sia stata qui recepita la lezione del poeta lucano. Ovviamente, modi e forme della presenza oraziana nelle differenti culture estone, lettone e lituana variarono a seconda delle temperie culturali e poi itiche dominanti in questa marca d'Europa. Occorre osservare che lo studio della fortuna di Orazio nei Paesi baltici è reso particolarmente difficile dall'assenza di qualsiasi lavoro preliminare o bibliografia parziale suJJ'argomento. Forse il criterio cronologico meglio di altri potrebbe in questo caso render ragione della persistenza di un interesse e di un'attenzione precise per il poeta latino e quello geografico mostrerebbe chiaramente come la conoscenza di Orazio nel Baltico fosse viva in tutti i principali centri di diffusione della cultura dell'intera regione. Tuttavia si è preferito dividere la materia nei tre tipici momenti indicativi della 'fortuna' di un autore, ossia: i motivi e le traduzioni, gli studi scientifici.

Berta Pīpiņa ir viena no redzamākajām Latvijas brīvvalsts sabiedriski politiskajām darbiniecēm, kura savā darbībā pievērsusies “sieviešu jautājuma” dažādajiem aspektiem, tostarp viņas interešu lokā bijuši jautājumi, kas skar sievietes lomu sabiedrībā, jaunatnes dzimumaudzināšanu, seksualitāti u. tml. Literatūrā Berta Pīpiņa sevi piesaka ar 1935. gadā izdoto romānu “Lejaskrodznieces meitas”, kas veltīts viņas mātei. Romāna literārā kvalitāte nav augsta, tomēr tas interesants ar tajā iekodētajām “sieviešu jautājuma” tēmu loka atziņām, kas sabalsojas arī ar autores sabiedriski politisko darbību. Romāna teksts vietumis veido dialogu ar dažus gadus agrāk izdoto Edvarta Virzas poēmu prozā “Straumēni”, un savā ziņā ir uzskatāms par pretstatu pozitīvisma tradīcijā izstrādātā Virzas darba idilliskumam.

W literaturze Niemców wschodniobałtyckich przełomu XVIII i XIX w. oraz dziewiętnastowiecznej Polski, Litwy i Łotwy motywy religijne i mitologiczne Bałtów były dość często wykorzystywane w różnych gatunkach literackich. Za słowem Bałtowie kryje się przede wszystkim plemię Prusów, gdyż to o ich przeszłości dochowało się do naszych czasów najwięcej przekazów źródłowych, które, w celu opisania przeszłości bajecznej pozostałych plemion (Litwinów i Łotyszy), wykorzystywały pokolenia pisarzy i poetów. Wydaje się, że wszyscy oni pragnęli przemienić w obraz każdą, najdrobniejszą nawet, wzmiankę dotyczącą dawnej wiary i zwyczajów. Spotykamy w literaturze fragmenty charakteryzujące m.in. ciałopalny obrządek pogrzebowy, święta ku czci rozmaitych bóstw lub też ofiarowanie kozła. Nieprzemijającą popularnością cieszyła się świątynia Romowe, zamieszkujący w niej bogowie oraz opiekujący się przybytkiem kapłani.

THE WORLD AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD. THE POETRY OF LINARDS TAUNS AND GUNARS SALIŅŠ
In the mid-1950s, the group “Elles ķēķis” was founded in New York, comprised of Latvian artists – mostly writers – who could not return to their homeland after the Second World War. The main architects of the “Hell’s Kitchen” were two poets, Linards Tauns and Gunars Saliņš, whom literary critics and the emigre artistic milieu almost unanimously proclaimed the creators of a new, extremely avant-garde chapter in Latvian literature. Both poets were using similar methods, overlapping and freely arranging two planes that ultimately merged into one – the concrete, soul(less) New York and the green, freely breathing Latvia. In that way they created surreal images whose aim was to create the illusion of the existence of a world which, after all, was to have irrevocably disappeared. The basic material for both poets was Latvian nature, whose ability to change cyclically, to be reborn and to seize free space, offered an opportunity of unrestricted “afforestation” of New York. This process of “afforestation” led, in consequence, to the building in the poetry overseas of a Latvian world after the end of the world.

Resumen. Andrejs Kurcijs (nombre real Andrejs Kuršinskis, Asite, 1884-1959) fue un poeta letón de vanguardia, que tuvo una notable actividad política durante el período de entreguerras. En este artículo, se analiza su relación con España y con la poesía de vanguardia, mediante la traducción al español de su libro Ēzelis, mūks, Eiropa (Burro, monje, Europa). Se compone de 18 poemas escritos durante una estancia en España. En sus memorias inéditas Mana laika grāmata (El libro de mi tiempo), leemos que en el verano de 1927 Kurcijs pasó una temporada en Madrid junto al poeta futurista lituano Juozas Tysliava. De esta forma, fue en Madrid (y en Biarritz) donde se escribieron los poemas de Burro, monje, Europa. Lo que aquí se presenta es la primera traducción al español de la poesía de vanguardia que Kurcijs escribió en España, así como un primer análisis de su contenido poético, hispano, político y vanguardista. Palabras clave: Kurcijs, traducción, vanguardia letona, activismo, ultraísmo INTRODUCCIÓN Este estudio y traducción se enmarcan en un proyecto personal más amplio de traducción de libros de vanguardia que tienen relación con el ultraísmo en español. En esta línea, se han publicado ya mis traducciones de Pierre Albert-Birot, del francés, Poemas cotidianos (Albert-Birot, 2015), y del sueco Henry Parland Liquidación de ideales (Parland, 2014). Ambas traducciones las he hecho en solitario, debido a mi conocimiento de ambas lenguas. La decisión de traducir al español a Kurcijs se debe al encuentro con la profesora letona Aija Brasliņa en Estocolmo hace algunos años. Es autora de muchas publicaciones dedicadas a la historia del arte en Letonia, sobre todo en la primera mitad del siglo pasado (Brasliņa, 2008; 2010; 2011). Fue ella quien dio a conocer la figura de Kurcijs, y me puso sobre la pista de sus vinculaciones con España. Debido al desconocimiento de la lengua letona me puse en contacto con la especialista en arte moderno Ieva Kalnača, que ha resultado el perfecto

The article constitutes an analysis of the content of selected motifs from three dramas which were written and published at the beginning of the 20th century in Poland and Latvia, namely from Stanisław Wyspiański's "Liberation" (1903), Tadeusz Miciński's "The Night of the Rabbis" (1903-1904) and Jānis Rainis's "I played, I sang" (1916-1919). The author's attention is focused mainly on the process of acquiring inner, spiritual maturity of the main characters of the two latter texts, the Poet and Tots respectively, towards the solitary fight for freedom of the nation plunged into stagnation and eaten away by the diseases of the 20th century. This fight takes place during the night - the night of the devil, the night of the rabbi, which to all but the main characters is a sign of the light, or, at least, the hope for it.