L I T E R A T U R E

Leons Briedis, Bārbala Simsone, Kaspars Zalāns, Elīna Līce and Ilona Ķepale have contributed selections of their poetry. Short stories are by Anete Piņķe, Ilze Lāce-Verhaeghe, Zane Zusta, Inguna Bauere and Vija Laganovska.

 

V I S U A L   A R T

Lilija Dinere, whom we featured in our Spring 2018 issue, shares excerpts of text and pictures from her soon to be published book Bestiāriju metamorfozes (Bestiary Metamorphoses), an encyclopedic collection of fanciful creatures rendered in acrylic paint over photographs.

Linda Treija, president of the American Latvian Artists Association (ALMA) introduces Ieva Krūmiņa, who makes textile art and intricate renditions of insects and grasses out of discarded polyethylene bags and bottles. Krūmiņa’s work is illustrated throughout this issue, including the cover.

 

M U S I C

Our music editor Dace Aperāne shares her impressions of the start of this year’s concert season in Rīga.

 

T H E A T E R

Actor / director Laimonis Siliņš (1926-2019) founded mazais teātris sanfrancisko (little theater in san francisco). Laima Martinskis reminisces on his productive and creative life.

Andris Zeibots, a writer / playwright at home in Rīga, expounds on the important instruments of theoretically based drama criticism.

A comedic sketch of dramatic dialogue titled “A Promise of Virginity” is shared by Kristiāna Štrāle-Dreika. She chairs Dramaturgu asociācija (Association of Playwrights) in Rīga, and maintains a database of plays <lugas.lv>.

 

L A N G U A G E

Otto Ozols (nom de plume of Mārtiņš Barkovskis) addresses the question, “How is the Latvian language to survive the crosswinds of globalization?”

 

B O O K S

Džemma Skulme (1925-2019) was an artist and a grande dame of Latvian culture during the time of the Soviet occupation, and a leader of the renewal of independence in 1988-89. She shares her preface, written this past summer, to Edgars Vinters. Gaisma, Krāsas, Noskaņas (Edgars Vinters. Light, Colors, Moods) by Hans Joachim Gerber and Ojārs Spārītis.

Contributing editor Anita Liepiņa comments on two novels by Inga Žolūde, newly published together in one book, Silta zeme (Warm Earth, 2008) and Materia botanica (2019).

Contributing editor Lāsma Gaitniece reviews Gunita Lagzdiņa’s collection of short stories Ieraudzīt varavīksni (To See a Rainbow).

Writer / literary critic Kristīne Ilziņa reviews Lienīte Medne-Spāre’s collection of stories, Dziedošās smiltis (Singing sand).

 

B R I E F L Y  N O T E D

Members of our editorial team describe recently published books, cultural events, awards, etc.