Gong-Gong : tankas : Sigismunda Vidberga grafika (Gong-Gong : tankas : Graphics by Sigismunds Vidbergs) [Japanese poetry collection]

Arveds vabe / Sigismunds Vidbergs cover design & illustrations

Verlag: Vainags, Riga, 1922

Beschreibung

Latvian language. Octavo 12 x 15 cm. Weight 50 g. Wrappers, 64 pp. The book is in Good condition without any visible defects, losses, remarks. Extensive foxing stains and some color fading on the cover, slightly clipping to the cover edges had been restored (pasted with thin paper strips from the inner side), damaged bottom end of the spine; internally extensive foxing on the fly-leafs, some light foxing throughout the book. Compass of Professor's Arveds vabe (1888-1959) activities is rather wide: renowned historian who established the Institute of Latvian History in 1936, compiler of Latvian encyclopedia, also he has written on folklore, literary criticism, prepared biographical reviews (essays), was a poet, prosaist, publicist and translator, mainly from Chinese and Japanese. An interest in Japanese and Chinese languages and literature vabe took while work in a post office in Manchuria (modern day China) during the WWI. In 1921, soon after the independent Latvia was proclaimed, vabe published the Latvian translation of Japanu Lirika" (Japanese Poetry), becoming the first person in the Latvian history to introduce the Japanese tanka and haiku. It was followed in 1922 by "Gong-Gong", a collection of his own Japanese tanka, which includes 28 tankas featuring motifs of nature and homeland. Tanka (short poem) is a classical Japanese poetry format. After this edition there was a long break for the Japanese poetry role in Latvian literature until 1980s., when tanka newly appeared in works of many Latvian poets, however, the book by vabe still remains the one and only consistent tanka book in Latvian poetry. Edition also can be considered as the great example of an artist's book. Latvian modernists did create a few fully-fledged book-works, one of the exemplary in this regard is current edition - Sigismunds Vidbergs's collaboration with poet Arveds vabe. The book includes fifteen full-page indian ink drawings, among which are Japanese-style erotica-, nature-, and urban-themed illustrations. Latvian grand master of modernism Sigismunds Vidbergs (1890-1970) is distinguished by his pen and ink drawings, stylistically refined and technically perfect, they are the hallmark of his graphic art. The imagery he created places him among Latvia s most important Art Deco artists. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 231

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Gong-Gong : tankas : Sigismunda Vidberga ...

Verlag: Vainags, Riga

Erscheinungsdatum: 1922

Einband: Soft cover

Zustand: Good

Auflage: 1st Edition