Juris Kunnoss

Juris Kunnoss (1948 – 1999) was born in Riga, and may be regarded as a specific phenomena, a peculiar icon in the Latvian universe of literature and poetry, whose simultaneously serene and cloudy, socially significant and private life has served as a warning and inspiration for future generations of poets. His phenomenal understanding of nature, and his lifelong work at the Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum and consequential knowledge of Latvian ethnography and traditional wisdom informed his writing and artistic expression. Texts written by Kunnoss were first published in the early 1970s, and since then he was actively writing, had regular publications in press and literary magazines. Kunnoss composed altogether four collections of poems - Drellis [Cotton Drill] (1981), Pieci septiņi/ Five Seven (1987), Slengs pilsētas ielās/Slang in the City Streets (1991). Ar jaunu mirdzumu acīs/With a fresh glimmer in the eyes being published posthumously in 1999. Although his work is known to have been described as genius by Kunnoss' peers, and has been reviewed by such important critics and literary experts as Inta Čaklā, Liāna Langa, et al., his work lacks no myth and mystery and is open to interpretations and further investigations with regards to its significance. Besides his unique approach to context and content, Kunnoss is also recognised for his innovative formal elements in poetry, one of the best known being his use of “x” when writing in Latvian. Poet and translator Sergejs Moreino has positively evaluated translations of Kunnoss' poetry into Russian, and has singled out his poems as some of the most translatable and most marketable texsts found in Latvian literature.

Jura Kunnosa "X"/"X" Юриса Кунносса [The “X” of Juris Kunnoss]. Comp. Aizpuriete, Sergejs Moreino ; transl. Sergejs Moreino, Olga Pētersone. Rīga: Neputns, 2008.
Dzejoļi 1995-1999 un par Juri Kunnosu. [Poems 1995-1999 and about Juris Kunnoss]. Comp. Austra Gaigala. Rīga : Jaunā Daugava, 2007.
Contraбанда [Contraband]. Compiled and translated into Russian by Sergejs Moreino. Rīga : Nordik, 2000.

Ar jaunu mirdzumu acīs [With a fresh glimmer in the eyes]. Juris Kunnoss & Co. Rīga : Daugava, 1999.
Drellis [Cotton Drill]. Rīga: Liesma, 1981.
Pieci septiņi [Five Seven]. Rīga : Liesma, 1987.
Slengs pilsētas ielās [Slang in the City Streets]. Rīga: Liesma, 1991.

Juris Kunnoss, poems // Jaunā Gaita, 1998 [LV]

Juris Kunnoss, Ar drellī austu dvieli, poems // Satori.lv [LV]

Austra Gaigala, article on Juris Kunnoss // Satori.lv [LV]

Guntis Berelis, review of Poems 1995-1999 and about Juris Kunnoss // Berelis' articles on literature [LV]