Bear's Ears: An Anthology of Latvian Literature

by Ieva Zauberga (Editor), Andrejs Veisbergs (Editor / Translator), Andrew Chesterman (Editor)

Genuinely native Latvian literature is young, slightly over 150 years old. Yet it flows from a spring of Latvian folksongs that are centuries old. And once the literature began to develop it grew and expanded at a surprising speed, absorbing the trends of the West and combining them with local issues and flavours. Within 50 years, there were novels, plays, and stories, and we saw the golden age of Latvian classics.

This collection includes traditional folk poems, extracts from longer Latvian classics, short stories, and poems. An introductory essay provides a historical overview of Latvian literature. Following the success of the two previous editions of Bear’s Ears the compilers have expanded the anthology by adding four post-Second World War authors, thus providing a more complete picture of Latvian literature.

The epic hero of Latvian literature is Lāčplēsis, Bearslayer. His ears are those of a bear, symbolising not only his great strength but also his ability to hear the voice of his people. Bearslayer appears several times in this anthology; the tragedy of his legendary story is balanced by the belief that he will return one day to bring freedom to his people. Has he returned?

Genres: Short Stories

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Michela Grasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to learn about Latvian literature, since as an anthology it presents the works of different authors. I enjoyed it a lot, every author is well presented in chronological order, with some of their best pieces. This book portrays the Latvian struggle and desire for independence through its national literature, it was really interesting to read after visiting Riga, and I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the Baltics. (I give 4/5 and not 5/5 because there are very few women authors)

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

1997
Viktorija gave me this when I visited them in JUly 2017.
Very useful as an introduction to the better known Latvian writers, including much-loved poets; each selection is prefaced by a short biography, and there is an introduction to the book.

Latvia being so small [2 million] and so often occupied by powers of other languages, there is not such a whole lot of literature written in the Latvian language.

Absolute tops is a chapter of an autobiographical novel by Mara Zalite, "Five Fingers". After reading this wonderful excerpt, I ordered the full book and really enjoyed it.

[Uygar Ozel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book to understand, traditional Latvian literature, and the way of thinking of Latvians.