Kārlis Vērdiņš

Kārlis Vērdiņš (1979) is a Latvian poet, literary theoretician, author of research papers, monographs, and several collections of poetry, as well as an editor of various publications. Vērdiņš has pursued a successful academic path, has a Ph.D. in Philology from University of Latvia (2009), and is known for his well-balanced reviews, his research on the prose-poem sub-genre and other subjects in Latvian literary culture (The Social and Political Dimensions of the Latvian Prose Poem, 2010). Vērdiņš is among the Latvian poets most often seen on international literary platforms, he is involved in music projects, and his contribution to art is not limited to Latvian language – he translates English and American modernists, has translated several works from Russian, including poems of the well-known creative collective Orbita. His own poems have been included in various collections in English, as well as been translated into Lithuanian, Swedish, Czech, Polish, Slovenian, Basque, and other languages. One of his most touching poems Come to Me was listed by the experts at the Southbank Centre among 50 greatest modern love poems of our day. Kārlis Vērdiņš' poetry can be viewed to be gentle, vivid and intimate; it often reveals uncomfortable truths in a piercing, playful, highly relatable way. Among his subjects is love, sex, coming to terms with one's self, all of which he talks about with a great deal of compassion, wit, and sense of irony. Poet and critic Gregory Woods has commented that "his first person is singularly hard to pin down, apparently detached while involved, precise while vague, inventing stuff while accurately recording memory". Vērdiņš has been called “the most honest Latvian poet of his generation” by his peers.

Poetry

Jandāliņš [Ruckus]. Riga: Liels un mazs, 2023.
Gatavā dzeja [Ready Poetry]. Riga: Neputns, 2020. 
Dilles tante [Aunt Dilly]. Riga: Liels un mazs, 2018.
Tētis [Dad, poems for children]. Reiņa Pētersona ilustrācijas. Rīga: Liels un mazs, 2016.
Pieaugušie [Adults]. Rīga: Neputns, 2015.
Mēs [Us]. Rīga: Mansards, 2012.
Ledlauži [Icebreakers]. Rīga: Nordik, 2001; Rīga: Mansards, 2009.
Es [Me, collected poems]. Rīga: Neputns, 2008.
Burtiņu zupa [Alphabet Soup, poems for children]. Illustrated by Otto Zitmanis. Rīga: Liels un mazs, 2007.
Biezpiens ar krējumu [Cottage Cheese with Sour Cream]. Rīga: Atēna, 2004.

In other languages

Ja. Prague: Dauphin, 2013.
Niosłem ci kanapeczkę. Vroclava: Biuro Literacke, 2009.
Титры. Maskava/Tvera: Argo-Risk/Kolonna, 2003.

Catherine Fortuna. Songs about the end of the world - 12th Miłosz Festival in Krakow // Radio Krakow, July 2023 [PL]

Kārlis Vērdiņš poetry // Citarny, June, 2023 [CZ]

Latvian Poetry Celebration. Kārlis Vērdiņš // European Poetry festival, May 2023 [EN]

Lauris Veips. Saying what you mean: trends in recent Latvian poetry // Versopolis, March 2023 [EN]

In Estonian and Latvian poems, jokes are made about the neighbors // Viro-instituutti.fi, March 2023 [FI]

Don't look the Latvian in the eye. Ball of introverts. Anthology of new Latvian poetry // Sirp, January, 2023 [EE]

Annika Suna. Kārlis Vērdiņš collects poems from legal texts, text messages and place names // /viro-instituutti.fi, February 2022 [FI]

Poetry by Kārlis Vērdiņš // Online magazine Punctum 2021 [LV]

About Ready Poetry // Online magazine Satori, 2020 [LV]

Conversation with Kārlis Vērdiņš // Online magazine Punctum, 2020 [LV]

Kārlis Vērdiņš profile // Speaking Volumes. Live Literature Productions [EN]

SJ Fowler, maintenant #76 – kārlis vērdiņš, interview with Kārlis Vērdiņš // 3:AM Magazine [EN]

Fifty greatest modern love poems list embraces 30 different countries // The Guardian, 2014 [EN]

Sabine Walther. Recommended book: Young poetry from Latvia // sabinewalther-bücher.de, October 2022 [GER]

Agnieszka Smarzewska. Lights in the fog. Review of the anthology of Latvian poetry "All the birds that are in me..." translated by Olga Wiewióra // Przeglad Baltycki October, 2020 [PL]

Anna Auziņa, Konceptuālisma dzejas grāmatas recenzēšana, review of Ready Poetry // Online magazine Punctum, 2020 [LV]

Ivars Šteinbergs, Kā (ne)uzrakstīt grāmatu, review of Ready Poetry // Online magazine Satori, 2020 [LV]

Inga Pizāne, Poēma ar ironiju un laimīgām beigām, review of Aunt Dilly // Ubi Sunt, University of Latvia, 2019 [LV]

Undīne Adamaite, Dzejoļi visiem zobiem, review of Dad // Diena, 2016 [LV]

Aivars Madris, Tēta azotē, review of Dad //  Internet magazine Satori.lv, 2016 [LV]

Dainis Deigelis, Literāri anatomiski tēta (iz)meklējumi, review of Dad // Ubisunt, University of Latvia, 2016 [LV]

Artis Ostups,  Dzeja pieaugušo dzīves pabērniem, review of Adults // Diena, 2015 [LV]

Anna Auziņa, Mīlēta varoņa skumjas, review of Adults // Internet magazine Satori.lv, 2015 [LV]

Anda Baklāne, Jēga, kura nepārklāj visu vienlīdz biezi: kāpēc Kārļa Vērdiņa dzejas krājumi pagaidām nekļūst sliktāki, review of Adults // Internet magazine Punctum, 2015 [LV]

Helen Mort, ‘the terrible’ by Daniel Sluman, ‘Come to Me’ by Karlis Vērdiņš and ‘A Formula for Night’ by Tamar Yoseloff // The Compass magazine [EN]

Anna Auziņa, Meklējot Kārļa Vērdiņa iekšējos orgānus, review of Me // Iternet magazine Satori.lv, 2008 [LV]

2021, shortlisted for the Annual Latvian Literature Award for Ready Poetry

2018, IBBY Honour List 2018, for Dad

2017, International Baltic Sea Region Jānis Baltvilks Prize as best collection of children's poems for Dad

2017, Dad Included in the White Ravens 2017 Best Children's Literature Catalog

2015, the Annual Latvian Literature Award for best poetry collection, for Adults

2014, poem "Come to Me" included in the selection of 50 greatest modern love poems by the London's Southbank Centre

2008, Poetry Days Festival Award as the best collection of poems, for Me

2007, the Annual Latvian Literature Award for Best Translation for Best Poetry Collection for Children, for Alphabet Soup

2001, The Diena Newspaper Award in Culture, for debut collection Icebreakers