Readings in Italian Vibes

The Jānis Akuraters Museum (Riga, Ojārs Vācietis Street 6a) invites you to 'Readings in Italian Vibes' on Thursday, October 31, at 17:00, to read and discuss together the literary works of Jānis Akuraters, Niklāvs Strunke, Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš, and other authors. Following the readings, the exhibition 'Niklāvs Strunke. Italian Landscapes' will be opened in the Bright Salon, dedicated to the artist's 130th anniversary.

Once a month, the Jānis Akuraters Museum invites you to 'Readings...' to read, discuss, and contemplate the literary texts of Jānis Akuraters, Laima Akurateres, and their contemporaries together with the participants. This time, the readings will be in Italian vibes, and after that, the exhibition 'Niklāvs Strunke. Italian Landscapes' will be opened in the Bright Salon, dedicated to the artist's 130th anniversary.

The focus of the readings will be on Niklāvs Strunke's 'Letter from Rome' and the poem 'Old World Cafés', Jānis Akuraters' poems dedicated to Florence and Venice, and the travel description 'Spirit of Rome', Anton Austriņš' poems, and excerpts from Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš' novel 'Capri'. Aivars Eipurs will present his Italian impressions in a concise reading.

Italy was one of Jānis Akuraters' dream lands. In his youth, he hoped to visit it, but perhaps it only happened at the end of his life – in 1936. The impressions of his journey transformed into descriptions published in newspapers and poems. Meanwhile, his friends Niklāvs Strunke and Antons Austriņš visited Italy already in the 1920s. Niklāvs Strunke captured his Italian impressions not only in watercolors, drawings, and oil paintings but also in a published description and even a poem. On the other hand, Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš used Niklāvs Strunke as a prototype for the character in his novel 'Capri' (1939).

The tradition of reading works by Jānis Akuraters, Laima Akurateres, and their contemporaries together with museum specialists at the Jānis Akuraters Museum began in May 2022 when enthusiasts were invited to 'Veranda Readings'. As the colder weather set in, the readings of works took place not on the veranda but in the Bright Salon, Laima's Room, or the Fireplace Room. And now, for the third season, the readings continue, inviting enthusiasts once a month.