I posted a while ago for suggestions about where to find Latvian traditional culture as a Native American visiting and it was so helpful on my trip. I learned so much, met elder oak trees, felt the sacred springs and even ended up on Latvian television on my second day in the country lol
Anyway, I had such a lovely time and created lifelong memories, but one thing was odd to me. I visited Rainis and Aspazija's apartment in Riga and Jurmala and even got help from a Latvian grandma to find Rainis' memorial since I got lost in the cemetery. I am really inspired by their life work to promote Latvian freedom & independence, social justice, and the human spirit's resilience through Latvian spirituality and more.
Hearing how legendary his work is, it was an odd experience when I actually went to look for his books in the bookstores. I went to 4 large book stores in Centrs and only one had a book of his plays, which took like 10 minutes for all the staff to find. In another store, the clerks didn't even know who he was — I even showed her his picture and name incase my pronunciation was somehow too weird to be understood.
I eventually found his poetry books for sale in an antique store of all places. So was it just randomly odd these book stores didn't sell his work or is his work not read anymore? He seems so respected that I thought it would be super easy like finding Shakespeare in England lol
by elitepebble