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Editor's welcome
Welcome to
Trafika Europe issue 3: Latvian Sojourn
. In
these pages, you’ll find a modest sampling of some of the
finest Latvian writers working today. Latvia is emerging
from some scars of history with a narrative of renewal;
several pieces here navigate this legacy with an almost
fatalistic, fairy-tale confidence in the healing power of art.
We begin with a premiere of Oswalds Zebris’
In the Shadow
of Rooster Hill
, set in a Latvian village following the popular
uprising of 1905. Then comes poetry by Edvīns Raups, a
rarely sensual and profound delight. Next, enjoy Jānis
Einfelds’ “magic and terrible” tales. We’re thrilled to debut
the first novel by a leading poet, playwright and
intellectual, Māra Zālīte, an autobiographical memoir of life
on her grandfather’s farm after her family’s return from
Siberia. There’s a preview of Inga Ābele’s forthcoming novel
Roar
, translated by Kaija Straumanis of
Three Percent
. And
we’re reprinting a story from Nora Ikstena that helped
garner her the Annual Latvian Literature Award. Thanks
especially to super-translator Margita Gailitis for her help
and contribution with this issue.
Pictures taken in and around Riga from some wonderful
photographers adorns these pages – see notes at the end for
all details. To top it off, we’ve made a
short animated videoto celebrate the beloved, recently departed Latvian poet