
[pictures by Inga Pizāne]
11:30h
Padejais models: from Latvia, a poetry anthology in Latgalian
CONVERSATION with
Jayde Will, Translation Prize
by Mariona Miret
Latgalian language
Biography
Jayde Will is a writer and literary translator who works from Latvian, Latgalian, Lithuanian, Estonian, and German into English. Born in Nebraska, USA, he moved to Estonia in the late 1990s, where he earned a Master’s degree in Finno-Ugric Linguistics from the University of Tartu. Since 2007, he has translated nearly 30 books, ranging from Lithuanian history to Latvian poetry. In 2020, Francis Boutle Publishers released his anthology “The Last Model, Padejais Models,” the first English translation of Latgalian literature, a collection of poems by Ligija Purinaša, Raibīs, and Ingrida Tārauda.
He received the Silver Ink Translation Award 2020 for the best translation from Latvian into a foreign language for his translation of Latvian writer Alberts Bels’ novel “Insomnia” (Parthian Press, 2020). His translations appear in collections and anthologies such as the Dedalus Book of Lithuanian Literature and Best European Fiction. His essays, stories, and poems have been widely published in literary and lifestyle magazines, including Words Without Borders, Panel Magazine, Lituanus, Vilnius Review, and the Italian magazine The Passenger. He has also translated subtitles for numerous films, including the Lithuanian classic “The Devil’s Bride” and the award-winning “Vanishing Waves.”
He also works as a literary agent on the Latvian Literature platform and is currently translating new poetry by Latgalian authors Ligija Purinaša and Valentin Lukashevich.
Award motivation
As a translator and literary agent, Jayde Will carries out a unique trade: transporting the cultural world of the Baltic countries beyond their borders. Since becoming interested in Latgalian in 2018, he has embraced the values that distinguish this society and set himself the mission to bring the innovations of young Latgalian poetry to audiences across Europe and around the world: to break away from the conservatism of Catholicism and the lingering Soviet past by infusing works with irony, freshness, and the power of personal experience.
Jayde’s dedication to valorizing Latgalian, a minority language, and elevating it to the same level as other languages spoken in Latvia is evident in his work with the Latvian Literature platform. He enriches this platform through ongoing research, forging new connections, collaborating with magazines and literary events, and promoting authors at poetry festivals abroad.
Through the bilingual anthology “The Last Model, Padejais Models,” Jayde Will has made the spirit of three young Latgalian poets accessible to English-speaking audiences. This carefully curated collection of texts is renowned not only for its quality but also for bringing the writers from a previously invisible minority to the forefront of public discourse in Latvia. It marks a significant milestone in recent Latvian literature’s history.
The Ostana Prize is awarded to a translator who extends the reach of Latgalian culture and strives to shed light on the society behind the texts of each individual author.
PARTNERS
The Ostana Prize celebrates the international support received
from the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages, and from two reference institutions in the linguistic field: the ELEN network (European Language Equality Network) and the NPLD network (Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity).