Festival 2016 - Focus

⇒ Greece ⇒ India ⇒ Indonesia ⇒ Latvia ⇒ Poets Translating Poets ⇒ GAV ⇒ meine drei lyrischen ichs spezial ⇒ New Books

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Focus Latvia: Presentation: Kalle Aldis Laar

The Focus on Latvia comes in two parts. On friday we present Anna Auzina and Inga Gaile, on sunday there will be a presentation with poet Liana Langa and musician Inguna Rubene, both of them also guests at the artists residency Villa Waldberta, accompanied by festival co-organizer Kalle Aldis Laar.

Poetry ha always been held in high esteem in Latvia, they say "There are as many songs as there are Latvians". About 1,2 Millionen Dainas, folk verses and songs, are documented - and there are about 1,3 Millionen native Latvians.

Like the Latvian language itself the roots of this folklore reach back even to ancient India. These texts and melodies, sometimes as old as 1000 years and composed mainly by women, survived only in oral traditions,as until the mid-19th century there was nol literature nor press in Latvian language. Education and social advancement was possible for Latvians only by adapting to the german-speaking elites.

Folklorist Krišjanis Barons collected in his lifetime 217.996 Dainas and and thus laid the foundation for a national consciousness, the old verses testified of an indigenious Latvian culture denied by the ruling German class.

The significance of the verses and songs for the Latvian identity is amplified by the song- and singer festivals, celebrated every 5 years since 1873 and (along with the song festivities in neighboring Estonia and Lithuania) has been declared as immaterial cultural heritage of mankind.

The poets at our festival have there individual poetic ways, Liāna Langa is besides beina a poet one the most important intellectual voices of her contry.

This focus is supported by the Latvian Authors Unity and the Cultural fond and the Latvian State Cultural Fund.

Focus Latvia: Friday, 14.10., at 20 -
with Liāna Langa and musician Inguna Rubene
Festival-Prieview Bibliothek Krailling

Focus Latvia: Friday, 28.10., at 16.30 -
with Anna Auziņa and Inga Gaile
Sunday, 30.10., at 18 -
with Liāna Langa and musician Inguna Rubene,
Presentation: Kalle Aldis Laar

Kalle Aldis Laar is of latvian-estonian descent, and speaks Latvian.
more on Kalle Aldis Laar ⇒ Team