How to capture the spirit of the city in writing?

On October 15 and 16, an urban prose workshop took place at RTU Liepāja Academy, combining scientific insights with creative practice. The event was organized as part of the research project "Reclaiming Latvian Realism: Literary Innovation as Identity Quest", implemented by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia.

The aim of the workshop was to foster an understanding of realism and its artistic possibilities in literature, as well as the various stylistic techniques that evoke a sense of reality in the reader. It sought to bring these insights to life in new works created by students of the Master's study program in Creative Writing at RTU Liepāja Academy, who were searching for the special spirit (genius loci) of cities, including Liepāja. The masterclasses were introduced by Benedikts Kalnačs' lecture on the dynamics of understanding realism and the relationship between its theory and practice, looking at examples from Latvian literature. In a seminar led by Ilze Jansone, participants engaged in close reading analysis, exploring the representation of place in Svens Kuzmins novel Brīvībene ("Freedom Street"). Prose writer Svens Kuzmins led the masterclass "Poetics of the City," in which young authors sought new perspectives for discovering the city.

On the second day of the workshop, Zanda Gūtmane analyzed the relationship between documentality and fiction in prose texts, while Artis Ostups prompted the audience to reflect on the presence of realistic elements in postmodern prose. The two-day event concluded in the evening at the Liepāja cultural space "Pegaza pagalms" with public readings of the newly created works.

^{Foto: Ginta Šneidera}