Zita Kārkla

Feminism and writing

Since 2019, I have been working at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art at the University of Latvia. My research focuses on women's writing, examining it through a feminist lens. I am interested in the history of Latvian women's writing, particularly in relation to the broader cultural spaces of the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and Europe. A key aspect of my research is exploring feminism in Latvian literature and examining how Latvian female authors reflect on women's experiences, identity, bodies, motherhood, and societal expectations. In my research, I pay particular attention to forgotten authors whose works have not been included in literary history for various reasons, as well as the mechanisms of this forgetting. I view the history of women's writing as a multi-layered narrative, comprising not only published works, but also unfinished manuscripts, letters, diaries, memoirs and other personal documents that depict women as active participants in the cultural process. This approach enables us to view literary history as an evolving, open and inclusive process in which stories that have long remained on the periphery or outside the field of vision also have a place.