From 9 to 20 September, Liepāja will once again host the Poetry Days, this year with a programme dedicated to the 160th anniversary of Rainis – the poet, dramatist and thinker, whose work forms the bedrock of Latvian literature and culture.
Poetry will take all kind of manifestations – appearing in the park at a musical picnic, echoing through libraries during author evenings, and filling the stage of an international poetry concert. The programme will bring together meetings with poets, creative reading workshops for schoolchildren, literary discussions, and tributes to Rainis, Aspazija and Olafs Gūtmanis.
The Liepāja 2027 Foundation will add a fresh dimension to the event with the poetry concert “Pretmets vai patmets?” (“Opposite or Not?”), which will take place on 11 September at 19:00 at Wiktorija Culture House. For the first time, Liepāja’s Poetry Days will welcome voices from abroad – Sabine Huynh from France and Gökçenur Ç from Turkey – who will join Liepāja poets Gunta Šnipke and Roberts Vilsons in a unique artistic encounter.
In the days leading up to the concert, foreign guests will work hand-in-hand with Liepāja’s authors and also meet young readers in the city’s secondary schools. Their creative exchange will culminate at Wiktorija, where audiences will hear Liepāja’s poetry resonating in French and Turkish, and in turn discover the guests’ works in Latvian.
The evening will combine words with music, featuring Liepāja musicians – double bassist Henrijs Leijs, pianist Elza Marija Buša and saxophonist Raimonds Leja-Andersons.
As tradition dictates, Poetry Days will also host the Egons Līvs Memorial Award “Krasta ļaudis”. The ceremony will honour the Best Original Prose Work 2024/2025 and the Best Literary Work by a Young Author 2025, highlighting contemporary voices shaped by Latvia’s literary shores.
The programme, organised by the Liepāja City Central Scientific Library in cooperation with the Liepāja Culture Department, the Liepāja 2027 Foundation and the Liepāja branch of the Latvian Writers’ Union, invites everyone to join.
All events are free of charge, welcoming anyone who wishes to listen, reflect and celebrate the living language of poetry.
Full programme available at: www.liepaja.lv/dzejasdienas2025
