Fiction
January 1933
Straumēni
by Edvarts Virza
Though Straumēni is written in prose, Virza called this work a long poem. Using a Neo-Classical approach, the author tells a story set in the 19th century, on a country homestead in the southern region of Zemgale. At the heart of this work are the author’s childhood memories and the stories he heard from his grandparents about the idyllic life of Latvian peasants. The world depicted in this book is imbued with a mythical sensibility, the yearly cycles described in it involving people as well as other living creatures. Along with work and responsibilities, the rhythms of nature and the mind change with the passage of time. For example, the entire household participates in growing and harvesting flax, and the linen fabric – which is a product of this work – serves as a symbol of unity for the people of Straumēni. Therefore, this process and its result must come from the entire family’s shared labour.
