Nora Ikstena discusses "Life Stories" with the translator of her work, Margita Gailitis, and John Van Oudenaren at the 2016 Library of Congress Book Festival in Washington, D.C.
Speaker Biography: Nora Ikstena is one of the foremost Latvian literary figures. She stepped on the literary stage in 1993 with her biography of Anna Rūmane Ķeniņa, a writer who was one of the first to introduce feminism ideology in Latvia. In 1998, Ikstena's novel "Dzīves svinēšana," or "Celebration of Life," became a Latvian best-seller and was translated into several languages. Since then, Ikstena has written a book almost every year, ranging from short stories and fairy tales to novels and biographies. She has also collected the works of her mentor and teacher, Dzintars Sodums, a Latvian-American poet, writer and translator, who Ikstena and her family cared for until his death. Ikstena has recieved the prestigious Baltic Assembly Award and the Three Star Order of Latvia. Additionally, she has been a member and chair of the National Culture Council and her initiative created the Latvian Literature Center, the International Writers and Translators House in Ventspils and the annual festival Prose Readings. A noteworthy personality in the cultural life of Latvia, Ikstena is also a concept author for films, music projects and large scale events as well as a travel columnist for the largest Latvian daily newspaper, Diena. One of her most recent and significant books, available in an English edition translated by Margita Gailitis, is the short story collection "Life Stories" , in which Ikstena presents eight strikingly different individuals" life stories.
Speaker Biography: Poet and translator Margita Gailitis was born in Latvia and immigrated to Canada as a child. In 1998, she returned to Riga, Latvia, and worked at the Translation and Terminology Center as part of a Canadian International Development Agency initiative. Since then, Gailitis has focused her energy on literary translation and poetry, and has translated some of Latvia's finest poetry, prose and dramaturgy. She has published her own poetry and it has received awards from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. Her latest work is the English translation of Nora Ikstena's "Life Stories".
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Негізгі бет Nora Ikstena & Margita Gailitis: 2016 National Book Festival
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