Aleksandrs Barons wins Poetry Days award for collection "Labyrinth of Loneliness"

On September 12 at the National Library of Latvia, the closing event of the main program of the "Poetry Days 2026" festival saw the presentation of this year's awards for the best poetry and translated-poetry collections.

The Poetry Days award for original poetry went to Aleksandrs Barons for his debut collection "Labyrinth of Loneliness," published by Neputns. Poet Māra Ulme praised the author's developed lyrical persona and rich, imaginative language. Born in 1997, Barons is also a musician and playwright — he has performed with various bands since 2015 and as a solo artist since 2020, and in 2025 began writing librettos for productions at several theaters.

The translation award went to Ieva Lešinska for her Latvian translation of Seamus Heaney's collection "100 Poems." Poet and translator Guntars Godiņš commended her ability to preserve both the meaning and the musicality of the original.

Domuzīme prize

Meanwhile, the Domuzīme magazine's Poetry Prize for the year's outstanding collection went to Lāsma Olte for "jums gaisma netraucē?" ("does the light bother you?"). Jury member and writer Andra Manfelde noted how the author playfully reworks traditional images of womanhood in the collection.

This year 29 books were submitted for the Poetry Days award — 17 original poetry collections and 12 translated collections. Besides Barons, the original-poetry shortlist included Elīna Vendija Rībena, Agnese Rutkēviča and Kārlis Vērdiņš. The judging panel included Guntars Godiņš, Māra Ulme, Ērika Bērziņa and Kristīne Ilziņa.

Twelve collections were submitted for the Domuzīme prize, three of which were shortlisted. The prize's symbol is a silver page-shaped brooch created by jewelry artist Una Mikuda. The festival, themed "Poetry Sings!", ran from August 28 to September 12, though individual poetry events will continue across Latvia until early October.