The book features drawings made by Ivars Poikāns for Latvian newspapers and magazines covering po litical and social issues.
While Poikāns’ drawings have a satirical inclination, they also slant toward political cartoon, which has always been a valuable source of information for historians. Usu ally, such studies emphasize the function of humour and taking the public’s anti heroes down a peg, but with the benefit of hindsight it also becomes clear that car toons can serve as accurate documents of historical events.
Diāna Barčevska, compiler
The book includes more than 80 drawings by Poikāns.
“The world that Poikāns drew some 20 years ago continues. The fact that we might not recognise specific heroes and scenes may simply mean that we are still accustomed to them, and their differ entness is not clearly visible," says journalist Māris Zanders.
Cartoon and political satire emerged in Latvia in the mid19th century, and it be came a weapon in political battles during the first independent republic, from 1918 to 1934, flourishing under conditions of free speech and parliamentary democracy. In the 1920s and 1930s, many promi nent Latvian painters and graphic artists also did cartoons and caricatures, includ ing both academic masters and rising stars.