Life Writing: Latvian Poet Veronika Strēlerte

Abstract

The article addresses the general concept of life writing, which refers to the creation of a text that focuses on the life and life experiences of a writer or another person. It centres on the poet Veronika Strēlerte’s self-reflection in her childhood recollections and on two people’s, who are close to her—her son Pāvils Johansons and the poet Margita Gūtmane, memories. The concepts of memory, experience, and identity offered by American scholars, Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson, proved instrumental in addressing life writing and its realisation through depictions and memories.

The article explores the motivations that prompted Strēlerte to revisit the images of her childhood memories, describes the relationship between the real and the fictional, and the narrative strategies (author’s and protagonist’s voices).

In discussing the two memoirs, the commonalities (belonging to the same generation) and differences (a sense of family, motherhood, and home) that define authors’ perspectives on the poet’s personality are examined. Johansons’ memoirs provide an insight into his family: his mother, a poet, and his father Andrejs Johansons, a cultural historian, religious studies scholar, essayist, and their relationship with him. They also vividly describe his parents’ inner circle, the Latvian intelligentsia in exile, and as such are important cultural and historical source. In her memoirs, Gūtmane portrays Strēlerte as a poet and as a “mere mortal,” thus creating a vibrant and versatile account of Strēlerte’s personality. She elaborates on the theme of exile, which was important for both Strēlerte and the memoirist, emphasising the inability of those who ended in exile to take root and find a home.

Strēlerte’s childhood memoirs significantly contribute to the autobiographical genre of Latvian literature. It can also be considered a part of Latvian children’s literature. The memoirs about her are not only artistically enjoyable but also a valuable material for the study of writer’s life and poetry.