Heart on the Sidewalk

Aleksandrs Caks

The proposed collection of poetry consists of almost thirty verses of Latvian poet-urbanist Aleksandrs Čaks (1901–1950), randomly selected by the translator and lavishly illustrated by the works of Karlis Padegs (1911–1940), a fellow countryman and contemporary of Čaks. Ukrainian readers get a chance to enjoy the image and colour of Riga — a city praised by the poet which he shows either as his protagonist or the scenery or even just a grey background. But most of all the poet seeks to persuade his readers that Riga is not a flat mechanic monster, but a wavering and ever changing living organism.