The poetry collections Apricots of Donbas by Lyubov Yakymchuk and The Winter King by Ostap Slyvynskyy, translated into Latvian, have been shortlisted for the prestigious Annual Latvian Literature Award (LALIGABA), Latvia’s leading literary prize. This was announced on the award’s official website.
Both books have been nominated in the category for the best translation of foreign literature into Latvian. The volumes were published by the Latvian publishing house Orbīta. The translations were undertaken by Māra Poļakova, Māris Salējs and Ingmāra Balode, while Jānis Elsbergs and Arvis Viguls also contributed to the work on The Winter King.
In her response, Lyubov Yakymchuk emphasised the complexity of translating her poetry, particularly due to its distinctive use of sound and linguistic structures: “Translating my poems is sometimes a challenge, because it is not easy to convey the soundscape, the linguistic fractures, the words that break down into syllables yet continue to make sense. The translators of such poems did not shy away from this — and my gratitude knows no bounds.”
In total, five authors were shortlisted in this category, including Federico García Lorca, Jaan Kaplinski and Roman Honet.
The Annual Latvian Literature Award ceremony will take place on 17 April.
The LALIGABA Award is a prestigious literary prize in Latvia and annually recognises the best works of prose and poetry, children’s literature, translations and debuts, as well as presenting a lifetime achievement award.