Jānis Rokpelnis is a poet par excellence, laconic master of word and form with well-polished voice and intonation, and every collection of his poetry is an event in Latvian literature.
The newly published book the size of a palm or pocket, or smartphone with the ascetic sign ‘share’ on the cover invites the reader to “share content” with one’s closest circle or perhaps the entire web – while reflecting on the filigree relationships of words, images and meanings in the collection.
The texts of Jānis Rokpelnis’ ninth collection of poems show a masterful balance between lyricism, grotesque and tragedy. Their arrangement into thematic cycles emphasizes the diversity of his themes and intonations, as well as allows to look at the process of writing poetry as an endless way, the sense of which may sometimes seem questionable, but always leads to unexpected revelations. Using Rokpelnis’ poetry characters, it can be said that he never really climbs on a solid, high rock to preach his teaching – he choses roads and paths, at times losing and then finding again that tiny web which connects him to some higher reality which makes each step meaningful
Kārlis Vērdiņš
