Inga Gaile (1976) is an award-winning Latvian poet, prose writer, playwright, performance artist, theater director, and President of Latvia PEN. With her unique brand of humor, she explores inner states of being, her own experiences, the everyday lives of women and stigmatized groups of society, while promoting equal rights. She has won several awards, including the Annual Latvian Literature Award 2015 and 2020 for Can the Back Row Hear Me and The Beautiful Ones. Inga Gaile is an active participant in the feminist movement in Latvia and is a founder of stand-up comedy group Women’s Stand-up. Gaile regularly performs her poetry at international festivals and her poems have been translated into several languages.
Poetry
Un varbūt ka mēs visi izdzīvosim [And maybe we will all survive]. Riga: Dienas Grāmata, 2024.
Nakts [Night]. Riga: Mansards, 2021.
Lieldienas [Easter]. Riga: Neputns, 2018.
Vai otrā grupa mani dzird? [Can the Back Row Hear Me?] - collection of children's poetry. Riga: Liels un mazs, 2014.
Migla [Fog]. Riga: Mansards, 2012.
Kūku Marija [Maria, the Cake Killer]. Riga: Orbita, 2007.
raudāt nedrīkst smieties [Cry Not Laugh]. Riga: Nordik, 2004.
Laiks bija iemīlējies [Time Had Grown Enamoured]. Riga: "Pētergailis", 1999.
Prose
Jaukumiņš [Delight]. Riga: Dienas Grāmata, 2023.
Rakstītāja [Writer of Her Own]. Riga: Dienas Grāmata, 2020.
Skaistās [The Beautiful Ones]. Riga: Dienas Grāmata, 2019.
Neredzamie [Invisible]. Riga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2018.
Stikli [The Glass Shards]. Riga: Dienas Grāmata, 2016.
Plays
Trauki [The Dishes]. 2014, staged in collaboration with Marta E. Martinsone at Dirty Deal Teatro, Riga.
Mūsu Silvija debesīs [Our Sylvia, who art in Heaven]. 2013, staged at Ģertrūdes ielas teātris, Riga.
Āda [The Skin]. 2011, published by Mansards, staged by Andrejs Jarovojs at Dirty Deal Teatro, Riga
Collections of stories
Piena ceļi [Milky ways]. Riga: Mansards, 2018.
Books to fall for
Can the Back Row Hear Me?
Can the Back Row Hear Me? (Vai otrā grupa mani dzird?)
— The Annual Latvian Literature Prize 2015 for Inga Gaile’s poems
— A Special Mention to Anete Melece at the 2015 International Baltic Book Art Contest for her illustrations and book design
— International Baltic Sea Region Jānis Baltvilks Prize in Children’s Literature and Book Art 2015 (the Jury’s Special Mention)
The daily life of a family is like a point of intersection in which the daily events and relationships of children and adults meet up. This book is a similar point of intersection that can be read by adults as well as children of all ages. Alongside her witty illustrations, Anete Melece has created games, exercises and colouring pages.
Contacts: pasts@lielsmazs.lv
CanTheBackRowHearMe_by_I.Gaile.pdf
Title
:Can the Back Row Hear Me?
Title*
:Vai otrā grupa mani dzird?
Authors
:Illustrators
:Genre
:Childrens-book
Publisher
:Liels un Mazs
Pages
:64
Year
:2014
Foreign rights
:All languages available
The Glass Shards
The Glass Shards (Stikli)
In this novel, events evolve during the late 1930s at the time of president Kārlis Ulmanis’ authoritarian regime. This period in Latvia is often associated with images of a burgeoning economy, social stability, and the swelling of national pride; at the same time, these are the years when concepts such as “reduced value individuals” – individuals who are perceived to be a threat to the future happiness of the nation – were also disseminated. Popular in Europe, the concept of eugenics has also infiltrated Latvia, creating negative attitudes toward mental health patients. Magdalēna, the novel’s protagonist, has been raped and is subsequently diagnosed as mentally ill in a psychiatric clinic. There, she meets Kārlis, a young, progressive psychiatrist whose views on the treatment of mental illness have been influenced by Freud’s psychoanalytical teachings.
Contacts: Dace Sparāne-Freimane, dace.sparane-freimane@dgramata.lv
TheGlassShards_by_I.Gaile.pdf
Title
:The Glass Shards
Title*
:Stikli
Authors
:Genre
:Fiction
Publisher
:Dienas Grāmata
Pages
:176
Year
:2016
Foreign rights
:Rights sold to Estonia
The Beautiful Ones
The Beautiful Ones (Skaistās)
The novel is about women who are standing — some waiting for their date to arrive, some having just stood up after kneeling in prayer, and hundreds of them at the Ravensbrück concentration camp where they have been ordered to stand as punishment until the Nazi guards find Katrīna Vaica who has managed to break free for the second time. They have been standing there for three days already. One of them is about to die shortly.
The novel is in three parts: Violeta, Magdalēna and Duks. They are sent in different periods from 1941 till 2006. Each chapter is marked by a year. The plot unites all three main heroines of the novel, but the ties that connect their lives are revealed only at the very end.
The three main heroines of the novel:
Violeta is a prisoner at Ravensbrück, later working at a brothel in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Magdalēna is a woman living in Rūjiena, Soviet Latvia, she suffers from a psychological condition which is combined with high emotional intelligence. She deeply longs after an intimate relationship with a man.
Duks is a free-thinking young girl in the 1990s in Latvia who is experiencing first-hand the emotional weight of the changing times on people around her. She grows up to be a writer who has two daughters and ends up writing a novel about the holocaust.
The novel has other heroes and heroines: Lidija is a homosexual woman in Soviet Latvia who has just returned from her deportation to Siberia; Meibla, born to Violet while the latter was only partially conscious, clueless as to who her father is, is now a psychoanalyst and lives in America; Kārlis, who works as a personnel physician at the Ravensbrück concentration camp; Blondie, at first, hired as a carer of Kārlis' rich grandmother, and later, out of love for Kārlis, gets a job at the Ravensbrück concentration camp as a warden; Erlens, whose prototype is Irmfried Eberl, Commander of the Nazi death camp Treblinka; Ilze, who returns to Soviet Latvia after being imprisoned at the Kengir Gulag.
The novel’s conceptual layers address the objectification and “functionalization” of women in all three of these periods.
The novel touches on the testimonies of women who worked at the brothels of Nazi Germany frequented by the prisoners of the camps, of homosexual women in Soviet Latvia, of deported children who managed to return to Soviet Latvia, and people who survived the horrors of deportation and have never been able to return to normality, and of contemporary women who are witnessing the consequences in the reactions and emotional states of all these traumatised individuals who also happen to be their grandmothers, mothers, fathers and significant others.
Contact: Dace Sparāne-Freimane, dace.sparane-freimane@dgramata.lv
TheBeautifulOnes_by_I.Gaile.pdf
Title
:The Beautiful Ones
Title*
:Skaistās
Authors
:Genre
:Fiction
Publisher
:Dienas Grāmata
Pages
:184
Year
:2019
Foreign rights
:All languages available
30 things that people never ask themselves, by the Latvian poet Inga Gaile, is published in Mexico // Circulo de poesia, December 2023 [MX]
Žanete Vēvere. A Glimpse Into The Latvian Literature! // All about book publishing, February, 2023 [IN]
Don't look the Latvian in the eye. Ball of introverts. Anthology of new Latvian poetry // Sirp, January, 2023 [EE]
Mariupol , poem by I.Gaile // Tvar, December 2022 [CZ]
Literature Festival "In-Between: Baltic States" // Kultur-lettland, September 2021 [GER]
About Night // Online magazine Satori, 2021.
Interview with Inga Gaile // Diena.lv, 2020 [LV]
About Easter translation into Polish // Dzień Tłumacza, 2020 [PL]
About The Writer // Online magazine Satori, 2020 [LV]
Conversation with Agnieszką Smarzewską (Polish translator of Easter) // European Poet of Freedom, 2020 [PL]
Interview with Inga Gaile // 15min.lt, 2020 [LT]
Poem by Inga Gaile recited in Polish by Sonia Gabryszewska // BezWiosna 2020 youtube channel, 2020 [PL]
Translated poem by Ryan Van Winkle and Jayde Will // Modern Poetry in Translation, 2020 [EN]
About The Beautiful Ones // Online magazine Satori, 2019 [LV]
Read the excerpt: Inga Gaile, "Glass" // kultuur.err.ee, February, 2018 [EST]
Audio interview with Inga Gaile // Trafika Europe Radio Mixcloud, 2018 [EN]
Interview with Inga Gaile // Diena.lv, 2016 [LV]
Interview with Inga Gaile // Online magazine Satori, 2012 [LV]
Sabine Walther. Recommended book: Young poetry from Latvia // sabinewalther-bücher.de,
October 2022 [GER]
Jūlija Dibovska, Tu esi sekss, review of Writer of Her Own // Online magazine Punctum, 2020 [LV]
Małgorzata Lebda, review of Easter // Przegląd Bałtycki, 2020 [PL]
Jūlija Dibovska, Laipni lūgts vēriens, review of The Beautiful Ones // Online magazine Punctum, 2020 [LV]
Bārbala Simsone, Viņas ir skaistas, review of The Beautiful Ones // Diena.lv, 2020 [LV]
Małgorzata Lebda, Ćwiczenia z wyobraźni, review of Easter // Europejski Poeta Wolnosci, 2020 [PL]
Author of the week, Inga Gaile // n2dalaautor.wordpress. June, 2019 [EST]
Inga Gaile "Glass" // laiapea.eu, June, 2018 [EST]
Linda Stack-Nelson, review of 30 Questions People Don't Ask // World Literature Today, 2018 [EN]
Review of 30 Questions People Don't Ask // Social Bookshelves, 2018 [EN]
Bārbala Simsone, Piena upe gadsimtu krastos, review of Milky ways // Diena.lv, 2018 [LV]
Andrejs Vīksna, Mūžīgais Piena Ceļš, review of Milky ways // Online magazine Satori, 2018 [LV]
Inga Žolude, Cilvēciņi galvā mācās runāt, review of Easter // Diena.lv, 2018 [LV]
Ieva Viese-Vigula, Ar savu cilvēku klēpī, review of Easter // Online magazine Punctum, 2018 [LV]
Ieva Melgalve, Pareizības griezīgās lauskas, review of The Glass Shards // Online magazine Punctum, 2016 [LV]
Bārbala Simsone, Uzvarošais trauslums, review of The Glass Shards // Diena.lv, 2016 [LV]
Inga Žolude, Vai sabiedrība mani dzird?, review of Can the Back Row Hear Me? // Online magazine Satori, 2015 [LV]
Anna Auziņa, Iznākšana no miglas, review of Fog // Online magazine Satori, 2012 [LV]
Arvis Viguls, Vienkārši Marija, review of Maria, the Cake Killer // Online magazine Satori, 2007 [LV]
2021, shortlisted for the Annual Latvian Literature Award for Writer of Her Own
2020, the Annual Latvian Literature Award for The Beautiful Ones
2015, the Annual Latvian Literature Award for Can the Back Row Hear Me?
2012, Prose Readings Award for the short story Piena ceļi/ Milky Ways
2012, Latvju Teksti Magazine Award for Fog
2012, Ojārs Vācietis Award for Fog
2007, Poetry Days Award for Cake Mary
2004, Ojārs Vācietis Award for Cry Not Laugh
2004, Anna Dagda Foundation Award for Cry Not Laugh
1999, Klāvs Elsbergs Award for Time Had Grown Enamoured
30 Questions People Don't Ask: The Selected Poems of Inga Gaile
30 Questions People Don't Ask: The Selected Poems of Inga Gaile (Dzejoļu krājums)
Title
: 30 Questions People Don't Ask: The Selected Poems of Inga GaileTitle*
: Dzejoļu krājumsAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Poetry
Language
:English
Publisher
:Pleiades Press, USA
Pages
:91
Year
:2018
Copyrights
:The publisher;
Synopsis
:Selection of poems by Inga Gaile, translated into English by Ieva Lešinska.
Klaas
Klaas (Stikli)
Title
: KlaasTitle*
: StikliAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Estonian
Publisher
:Loomingu Raamatukogu, Estonia
Pages
:143
Year
:2018
Copyrights
:The author; the publisher;
Synopsis
:The novel's events evolve during the late 1930s at the time of president Kārlis Ulmanis' authoritarian regime, when such concepts as "reduced value individuals" were disseminated "for their own good and benefit of our future".
30 cosas que la gente jamás se pregunta
30 cosas que la gente jamás se pregunta (30 jautājumi, kurus cilvēki neuzdod)
Title
: 30 cosas que la gente jamás se preguntaTitle*
: 30 jautājumi, kurus cilvēki neuzdodAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Poetry
Language
:Spanish
Publisher
:Cazador de Ratas Editorial, Spain
Pages
:78
Year
:2019
Copyrights
:The author, the publisher (of this edition)
Synopsis
:Selected poems by Inga Gaile
Bicki-Books #11: Emil
Bicki-Books #11: Emil (Emīli)
Title
: Bicki-Books #11: EmilTitle*
: EmīliAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Children`s Book
Language
:English
Pages
:24
Year
:2020
Copyrights
:The author, the translator, the illustrator
Synopsis
:A modern nursery rhyme about friendship.
30 cosas que la gente jamás se pregunta
30 cosas que la gente jamás se pregunta (30 jautājumi, kurus cilvēki neuzdod)
Title
: 30 cosas que la gente jamás se preguntaTitle*
: 30 jautājumi, kurus cilvēki neuzdodAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Poetry
Language
:Spanish
Publisher
:Editorial Cuarto Propio, Chile
Pages
:52
Year
:2017
Synopsis
:Selected poems by Inga Gaile
Wielkanoc
Wielkanoc (Lieldienas)
Title
: WielkanocTitle*
: LieldienasAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Poetry
Language
:Polish
Publisher
:Instytut Kultury Miejskiej, Poland
Pages
:170
Year
:2019
Copyrights
:the author
Synopsis
:Poignant intonations and the theme of senseless sufferings and human folly alternate with gentleness and longing for trust, hope and love.
Gražiosios
Gražiosios (Skaistās)
Title
: GražiosiosTitle*
: SkaistāsAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Lithuanian
Publisher
:Homo Liber
Pages
:197
Year
:2021
Copyrights
:author, publisher, translator
Synopsis
:The novel is in three parts: Violeta, Magdalēna and Duks. The plot unites all three main heroines of the novel, but the ties that connect their lives are revealed only at the very end.
30 cosas que la gente jamás se pregunta
30 cosas que la gente jamás se pregunta (30 jautājumi, kurus cilvēki viens otram neuzdod)
Title
: 30 cosas que la gente jamás se preguntaTitle*
: 30 jautājumi, kurus cilvēki viens otram neuzdodAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Poetry
Language
:Spanish
Publisher
:Círculo de Poesía Ediciones
Pages
:56
Year
:2023
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:Selected poems by Inga Gaile.
Frammenti di vetro
Frammenti di vetro (Stikli)
Title
: Frammenti di vetroTitle*
: StikliAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Italian
Publisher
:Mar Dei Sargassi Edizioni
Pages
:183
Year
:2023
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:The novel's events evolve during the late 1930s at the time of president Kārlis Ulmanis' authoritarian regime, when such concepts as "reduced value individuals" were disseminated "for their own good and benefit of our future".
Skarbeniek
Skarbeniek (Jaukumiņš)
Title
: SkarbeniekTitle*
: JaukumiņšAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Polish
Publisher
:Wydawnictwo Marpress
Pages
:371
Year
:2024
Copyrights
:The author
Ilusad
Ilusad (Skaistās)
Title
: IlusadTitle*
: SkaistāsAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Estonian
Publisher
:Loomingu Raamatukogu
Pages
:168
Year
:2024
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:The novel is in three parts: Violeta, Magdalēna and Duks. The plot unites all three main heroines of the novel, but the ties that connect their lives are revealed only at the very end.
Lepotice
Lepotice (Skaistās)
Title
: LepoticeTitle*
: SkaistāsAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Serbian
Publisher
:Partizanska knjiga
Pages
:212
Year
:2024
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:The novel is in three parts: Violeta, Magdalēna and Duks. The plot unites all three main heroines of the novel, but the ties that connect their lives are revealed only at the very end.
Small is my land. Poetry and prose from Latvia
Small is my land. Poetry and prose from Latvia (Dzeja un proza no Latvijas)
Title
: Small is my land. Poetry and prose from LatviaTitle*
: Dzeja un proza no LatvijasAuthors
: , , , , , , , , , ,Translated by
:Genre
:Anthology
Language
:English
Publisher
:Edinburgh Review, Scotland
Pages
:88
Year
:2005
Copyrights
:Authors
Synopsis
:Poetry and prose collection in English of contemporary Latvian authors.
Werde zum Gespenst
Werde zum Gespenst (Dzejas antoloģija)
Title
: Werde zum GespenstTitle*
: Dzejas antoloģijaTranslated by
: , , , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:German
Publisher
:Wunderhorn, Germany
Pages
:187
Year
:2016
Copyrights
:Authors
Synopsis
:Poetry collection in German of contemporary Latvian poets.
New European Poets
New European Poets (Dzejas antoloģija)
Title
: New European PoetsTitle*
: Dzejas antoloģijaAuthors
: , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:English
Publisher
:Graywolf Press, United States of America
Pages
:401
Year
:2008
Copyrights
:Authors
Synopsis
:Poetry selection of contemporary Latvian poets included in a poetry anthology.
Dzeja. Antologija sodobne latvijske poezije
Dzeja. Antologija sodobne latvijske poezije (Latvijas dzejas antoloģija)
Title
: Dzeja. Antologija sodobne latvijske poezijeTitle*
: Latvijas dzejas antoloģijaAuthors
: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,Translated by
: , , , , , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Slovenian
Publisher
:Vilenica, Slovenia
Pages
:150
Year
:2016
Copyrights
:Authors
Synopsis
:Anthology in Slovenian of contemporary Latvian poetry.
Revija malih književnosti. Latvija
Revija malih književnosti. Latvija (Mazo literatūru pārskats. Latvija)
Title
: Revija malih književnosti. LatvijaTitle*
: Mazo literatūru pārskats. LatvijaAuthors
: , , , , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Croatian
Publisher
:Booksa, Croatia
Pages
:93
Year
:2015
Copyrights
:Authors
Synopsis
:Anthology in Croatian of contemporary Latvian literature.
Poetry Wales. Latvia via Wales: contemporary Latvian poets in translation. No.2, 2017
Poetry Wales. Latvia via Wales: contemporary Latvian poets in translation. No.2, 2017 (Mūsdienu latviešu dzejnieki Velsas literārajā žurnālā)
Title
: Poetry Wales. Latvia via Wales: contemporary Latvian poets in translation. No.2, 2017Title*
: Mūsdienu latviešu dzejnieki Velsas literārajā žurnālāAuthors
: , , , , , , ,Translated by
: , , , , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:English
Publisher
:Poetry wales, United Kingdom
Pages
:96
Year
:2017
Copyrights
:The contributors
Synopsis
:Poetry translations of poets that participated in poetry translation workshops in Riga and in Wales.
Grand Tour. Reisen durch die junge Lyrik Europas
Grand Tour. Reisen durch die junge Lyrik Europas (Grand Tour. Travel through the young poetry of Europe)
Title
: Grand Tour. Reisen durch die junge Lyrik EuropasTitle*
: Grand Tour. Travel through the young poetry of EuropeAuthors
: , , , , , , , , ,Translated by
: , , , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:German
Publisher
:Carl Hanser Verlag, Germany
Pages
:584
Year
:2019
Copyrights
:The publisher
Synopsis
:Travel through the young poetry of Europe
MIND TÚL VAGYUNK A HATÁRON
MIND TÚL VAGYUNK A HATÁRON (All of us here are over the edge)
Title
: MIND TÚL VAGYUNK A HATÁRONTitle*
: All of us here are over the edgeAuthors
: , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Hungarian
Publisher
:Szépírók Társasága, Hungary
Pages
:139
Year
:2019
Copyrights
:The publisher, the authors, the translators
Synopsis
:Baltic poetry
Introvertide ball. Läti uue luule antoloogia
Introvertide ball. Läti uue luule antoloogia (Dzejas antoloģija)
Title
: Introvertide ball. Läti uue luule antoloogiaTitle*
: Dzejas antoloģijaAuthors
: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,Translated by
:Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Estonian
Publisher
:Hea Lugu
Pages
:Year
:2022
Copyrights
:the author
Synopsis
:Anthology of Latvian poetry
A por el mar. Relatos letones contemporáneos
A por el mar. Relatos letones contemporáneos (Stāstu antoloģija)
Title
: A por el mar. Relatos letones contemporáneosTitle*
: Stāstu antoloģijaAuthors
: , , , , , , , ,Translated by
:Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Spanish
Publisher
:Báltica Editorial
Pages
:238
Year
:2023
Copyrights
:The authors
Tirpsta diena kaip ledai
Tirpsta diena kaip ledai (Dzejoļi bērniem, antoloģija)
Title
: Tirpsta diena kaip ledaiTitle*
: Dzejoļi bērniem, antoloģijaAuthors
: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,Translated by
: , , , , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Lithuanian
Publisher
:Slinktys
Pages
:160
Year
:2023