Master class with Ināra Vērzemnieks

Publicēts: 13.11.2019

In sincerity and the joy of reunion, on November 12, we met with journalist and writer Ināra Vērzemnieks , who was born in America but spent her childhood with her grandmother on the side of Gulbene.

For the second year in a row, Ināra visited the library to meet with the locals and talk about her book , Among the Living and the Dead, and her family's experiences in the post-World War II and post-war years. also to provide guidance and inspiration in writing documentary prose.

The participants of the master class learned practical methods and techniques on how to document their memories, how to put individual memories into context, how to go into details. The event had a very creative atmosphere, created by the stories of the memories present, various writing methods and even going out to draw attention to the sounds, colors, people and feelings of a particular time of year in their story.

Responding to why Ināra still tends to return to Latvia, the writer admitted that only on the side of Gulbene is she gaining the kind of peace and quiet that the United States can only dream of. Inara is pleased with the change of seasons, the bright stars in the sky and the ability to give at least a small part of her knowledge to her grandmother's homeland.

Thanks to Ināra Vērzemnieks, as well as to the US Embassy in Latvia for cooperation!

Photos from the event HERE .

Liene Baranovska,
Gulbene district libraries
public relations specialist