Trafika Europe 3 - Latvian Sojourn

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 video to celebrate the beloved, recently departed Latvian poet

I