Top book

Publicēts: 27.06.2023

Top book - an insight into the life and works of Viļas Zvaigznīš

Inese Kalēja,
Gulbene county library

Gulbene county library's project "Dzejnieks no Dieva žēlastības - VILIS ZVAIGZNITIS in poetry, art and life paths" received support in the "Vidzeme historic land culture program 2023" project competition.

Learning about the multi-faceted personality and creative work of Viļis Zvaigznīs from Lizumā, as well as celebrating his 110th birthday, a book will be published, which will include a study of the life of V. Zvaigznīs by local resident Juras Zakis, as well as a selection of poetry and prose works by V. Zvaigznīs.

There are people who must not disappear from people's memory. One of them is Vilis Zvaigznītis - an unusual, deeply intelligent man from Lizum, gifted with many talents. He has bequeathed many sculptures and literary works to future generations, his contemporaries remember him as a charming and erudite storyteller with a refined language, as a local guide and conductor at funeral ceremonies.

Sculptor, writer, engineer-chemist by education Vilis (Wilhelms) Zvaigznītis was born in Lizum on March 8, 1913. In his sculptures, Vilis often used the image of the devil from Latvian folk tales. The most famous devil sculpture of Vilas Zvaigznīš is Gosupes velns. Vilis' lifelong dream was to become a poet, to publish his collections of poems. Although recognized literati supported his efforts and works, due to coincidence of times and circumstances, the book was never published. Fewer and fewer people remain who remember him, his literary works are still not collected and published.

The efforts of former Lizuma resident Jura Zaķa to preserve the memory and works of Vilis are highly appreciated. Juris has carefully studied the diaries of Vilis, transcribed the manuscripts of his literary works and collected them in a study, interweaving the testimonies of the era with fragments from the diaries of Vilis into a single narrative.

The book will also include works of various stages and forms of poetry, fragments from diaries, photographs of his sculptural works, after evaluating and selecting from the previously deciphered manuscripts of Vilis. The printing of the book will be provided by the publishing house "Sava grāmata".

In September, a book opening celebration is planned in "Kalaņģos" of Lizuma parish. As part of the festivities, a sculpting workshop with sculptor Ivaru Drulli is also planned, drawing inspiration from the sculptures of Viļa Zvaigznīša. Audio recording of readings of book fragments will also be done in the fall.

In order to popularize the book and make it more accessible to a wider circle of society, the book will be available in the digital object management system (DOM) of the National Library of Latvia.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the creation of the book - both with memories and photographs, and by reviewing, choosing and organizing Viļa' literary works for the collection!

“His whole being was permeated with poetry. A large number of drafts and drafts of intended works have survived. For a large part, not only the date and time of writing, but also the place where it happened are marked on the edges of the page. Here we can see that the verses were written both late at night, waking up in the middle of the night, and early in the morning. The resulting Párgauja silage in the heather field, in the forest, in the meadow, in the hay shed, in Lejpliava hay is mowed in the morning, in  Robežkalnā, in the rest house, in the Velēna mill, in the cemetery, on the Tirza road, on a rainy day as it darkens, in the silage near Adulīte, in the guardhouse of the Lizuma crossroads, in the legendary Azanda creeks. .. Poetry is always and everywhere with him. Wandering through the woods with a basket of mushrooms on one's hand is a favorite, when the soul opens up in the silence and thoughts arise [...]" (excerpt from the book)

In the picture: Vilis Zvaigznītis, 20th century. in the 50s - 60s.

The book is published with the support of the Vidzemes Planning Region and the State Cultural Capital Fund.