Festival visitors told Latvian television that the atmosphere was reminiscent of a music festival and that the range of different activities made for a dynamic and fulfilling day.
In the crowded hall of the Līgatne creative quarter, participants listen attentively to the speakers, occasionally making notes in their notebooks, computers or phones. The day is all about the idea of writing. Monta, a festival-goer from Riga, says: “It’s mostly about self-expression. Through writing, both the emotion and the feeling are easier to process; it is also possible to change the perspective of life.” Ariela from Riga adds: “Writing is like another sphere. Now I may not be able to find the right words, but it is like drawing or painting. It happens instantly, but through the mind, sight and sometimes hearing, and it happens both in the head and on the paper.”
Among the visitors and panelists of Writival there are also those who have been writing for a long time. Writer and poet Māra Zālīte said: “You can look at it however you want, but writing is the basis of the whole Latvian culture, and it is determined by the language, and the writer uses the language, and that is why in all our classical literature, without which we would not be who we are – Brigadere or Blaumanis or Aspazija, Rainis – writing is very important and the word has great power.”
The writer Māris Bērziņš emphasizes that the meetings are always interesting, especially for writers who mostly sit in their cells, thinking and writing: “But here there are meetings and conversations from which perhaps one or another spark and one or another insight may emerge.”
Writer Inga Grencberga added: “I have a notebook and I’ve been walking around all day today writing down what my writing sisters and brothers have said; very, very valuable.”
Writer Haralds Matulis says of the atmosphere of the festival: “It feels like you’re at a music or film festival. You don’t have the opportunity to go to everything you want and then you have to decide. It’s such a cool festival feeling.”
The lectures and workshops covered a wide range of topics, from the development of children and young people to the effects of artificial intelligence.
Writer Inga Žolude, organizer of “Rakstivāls,” says: “The main goal is, firstly, to celebrate the written word. Secondly, to draw attention to how important it is, especially for a relatively small language like Latvian. But also in this context, we have been talking for many years or decades about, for example, globalization and the influence of the English language. In recent years, we have also paid particular attention to how texts or information can be used against us.”
The organizers hope that the writing festival can become an annual tradition in the Cēsis region – with the aim of attracting international visitors in the future.
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