Smiltene municipality libraries launch September poetry campaign “Dzejas dzīpari”
Libraries across Smiltene municipality are marking September's national poetry month with a joint campaign called “Dzejas dzīpari,” featuring free meetings, concerts and creative events in every town and parish. Children can also join an interactive “Poetry Bingo” activity.
Throughout September, celebrated nationwide as Latvia's poetry month with annual Poetry Days, libraries in Smiltene municipality are running a joint initiative called “Dzejas dzīpari” (Threads of Poetry). The idea is symbolic: a thread of poetry unspools across every parish and town in the municipality during the month, taking a different shape in each library while tying all the events together under one shared story about poetry.
Meetings with poets and musicians
Over the month, libraries are hosting several meetings with people who write poetry and perform it as song. On September 4, singer-songwriter Kārlis Kazāks visits Rauna library. On September 10, musician and poet Mārtiņš Kanters appears at Smiltene library, while Palsmane library welcomes children's book author Zane Zusta the same day. On September 11, Bilska library, together with Birzuļi library, hosts an event with Mārtiņš Bergmanis, founder and singer of the band “Lustīgais Blumīzers.” On September 18, actor and poet Varis Vētra performs at Ape library, and in the second half of the month further meetings are planned at Launkalne, Variņi and Gaujiena libraries, including with TV personality Magone Liedeskalna and singer-songwriter Lauris Valters. Some events are organized jointly with local schools and a social care centre. All events are free to attend, and recordings will later be posted on the library's social media account.
Interactive activity for children
For children and young people, Smiltene library is running “Dzejas bingo” (Poetry Bingo) from September 7 to 25. Using a smartphone to scan QR codes, participants can listen to poems recorded by librarians and mark down words they hear on a worksheet. Completed sheets must be submitted by September 25, and prize winners will be drawn from among participants. Further details are available at each town or parish library.
