News Archive

Wales Inspires European Writing

Latvian writer Janis Elsbergs returns to Wales to read work inspired by his visit to Cardiff during the summer of 2006.

As part of the Literature Across Frontiers and Welsh Literature Abroad project, Sealines, Janis Elsbergs from Latvia came to Wales during June 2006.  He spent a month’s residency in Cardiff with Finnish writer Juha Ruusuvuori, Slovenian writer Igor Likar and Croatian writer Milan Rakovac. Each writer worked alongside Welsh artist Ffion Rhys: the result is a written and visual portrait of Cardiff set against a wider Welsh backdrop seen through the eyes of Eastern European and Nordic writers.

The outcome of the project can be experienced in the Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay on Friday the 8th of June at 7.30pm.  The evening will be hosted by Welsh writer Ian Davidson (also part of the Sealines project spending his residency in Riga, Latvia during August 2006) who will be interviewing Janis Elsbergs and Ffion Rhys.  Elsbergs will be reading work created during the Sealines residency in Cardiff and Ffion Rhys will be exhibiting her paintings inspired by Elsbergs’ work. There will be a wine reception and an opportunity to see the video and sound installation created by Ffion Rhys, Juha Ruusuvuori and Igor Likar. Entrance to the event is free. The same event, this time with interviews by Robert Minhinnick, will take place during the Tw Newydd Festival on Sunday the 10th of June.

The Sealines Project links 6 European port cities with a tradition of literary bilingualism through a series of writers’ residencies to create a work in response to the experience of their one–month stay. The cities involved are four capitals: Cardiff, Helsinki, Riga and Valetta, and two regional ports: Galway on the West Coast of Ireland and Koper (Capodistria) on the Slovenian coast.

Altogether, 19 authors, 2 artists, 2 film-makers and 1 musician participated in the project, while some of the authors also created visual and multimedia work. The Welsh participants in the project are the writers Fflur Dafydd, Ian Davidson, Tristan Hughes and Robert Minhinnick, and the artist Ffion Rhys.

For more information visit the websites of Welsh Literature Abroad or Literature Across Frontiers or email info@lit-across-frontiers.org / post@welshlitabroad.org. Alternatively you can call 01970 622241.