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JG 108
In this issue J
aunā Gaita marks the hundred years of two great poets - Rainer Maria Rilke and Jānis Akurāters. Edīte Zuzena traces Rilke’s philosophic and poetic development and his search for synthesis, also contributing superb translations of several of Rilke’s poems. Akurāters is described by several writers as a romantic, a seeker of beauty, and also a passionate believer in freedom - a critic who loathed artistic censorship as much as political tyranny. Zuzena also contributes an extensive analysis of the verse play Matīss, Prince of Drunkards by Aleksandrs Čaks, the first completely urban Latvian poet. She especially stresses Čaks’ debt to Goethe’s Faust, quoting many similar passages; however, she sees Matīss as the antithesis of Goethe’s hero. Thus she disputes some of Gunārs Saliņš’ conclusions about the same work in JG 98, and also contributes some novel interpretations of Čaks’ reasons for designating his work as „a comedy with four corpses”.Latvians have always considered themselves great lovers of theatre, both professional and amateur. When after World War II many professional actors and directors left Latvia, they established their influence and dominance over Latvian theatre in exile which, to some extent, continues even now, especially in North America. Meanwhile, a new generation of Latvian theatre artists, professionally trained in English-speaking countries, has grown up - and even reached middle age. Many have found professional success in English-speaking theatre, but nevertheless found it difficult to work in Latvian theatre, often encountering opposition from traditionally - minded older actors and audiences. Consequently, Latvian theatre has declined - some say the professional theatre has all but vanished. Australia, apparently, is an exception. In this issue Alfreds Straumanis - director, playwright, translator, and drama professor who at present works almost exclusively in American theatre - contributes some thoughts about Latvian theatre’s past and present. With characteristic flair, he presents his critique in the form of a letter from the dead by
Ādolfs Alunāns, known as „father of Latvian theatre” more than a century ago. Alunāns/Straumanis wittily compares Latvian theatre then and now and finds it little changed. His plea is for lovers of theatre - on both sides of the footlights - not to cling to old, obsolete traditions, such as unnatural, old-fashioned style of acting or insistence on uncritical praise, no matter how wretched the performance.Theatre critic
Ņina Luce from Australia likewise argues that Latvian theatre must not cling to old-fashioned repertory (although classics do have value) lest it stagnate and die; it must present modern, innovative plays, including translations, since theatre knows no national boundaries. She also analyzes and compares the works of a number of Latvian and non-Latvian dramatists, including Dürrenmatt, Zīverts, and Eglītis. Finally, one of the greatest of all Latvian comic actors, Augusts Mitrevics, contributes an exerpt from his autobiography.JG art editor
Ilmārs Rumpēters reviews an exhibition of paintings by Ilga Reke-Andersone. Reke has experimented with many unusual media - including colored smoke and explosives. Currently, she uses oil and mixed media to create an effect resembling aquarelles. Rumpēters describes her paintings as individualistic, spontaneous, and graphical; a number of them are reproduced in this issue.Richards
Rīdzinieks, in his short story „Belated Visit,” demonstrates once more how well he understands small, seemingly insignificant people and their daily cares and concerns; and that it is possible to give dignity and significance to their lives. The bachelor protagonist, having traveled from Sweden to Germany to visit an old friend, learns that he has just died in an accident. Forced to spend the night with the bereaved family, groping how to give them some small comfort, he finds himself not only drawn into their lives, but also examining his own memories, concerns, and beliefs. Rīdzinieks also contributes a short, amusing fable, „Gustave the Puffball,” reminiscent of Aesop. Ints Liepa mixes seriousness and mild irony in „Lecture on Man’s Place in Nature.”Most striking among the poems is
Aina Kraujiete’s long and intricate „Diary of a Somnambulist.” Kraujiete’s style is immediately recognizable - and inimitable. Weaving images of shimmering beauty into hypnotic rhythms and sounds (even the shape of the poem always reflecting the flow of thoughts and sense impressions), Kraujiete creates one of those „imaginary gardens with real toads in them.” Colors shift from silver to gold to red, images from moonlight, water, mirrors, through dreamlike glimpses of reality, to sun and sunflowers - until the reader begins to feel lika a somnambulist too; then, with a brief, terse concluding stanza, he is suddenly brought back to the reality of city streets and alleys. A poet of very different stripe is Jānis Gorsvāns; he sounds deceptively simple. However, any student of literature will immediately recognize that his poems are striking experiments with time-honored, traditional forms, rhymes, and rhythms, such as almost no one knows how to practice any more. But there is nothing old-fashioned about the poems; the sensibility is intensely modern, and the seemingly simple thought content extremely complex. Other poets - mostly already well known to JG readers - are Herta Krauja, Valentīns Pelēcis, Juris Zommers, and a newcomer Lolita Gulbe.Last summer, the
III Latvian Youth Congress in Floreffe, Belgium brought together representatives from all over the western world - as well as Soviet Latvia, and caused an outcry in the conservative press. Juris Mazutis’ detailed reportage of the events will be especially valuable to future chroniclers of an important event in the history of Latvian exile. The cover is by Ilmārs Rumpēters.
Ilze Šedrika-Levis
