BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 28. On 27 August, at Tartu Town Hall, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže announced that the winner of the 2024 Estonian-Latvian Language Award is poet and translator Contra (real name Margus Konnula), Trend reports.
“This year the competition featured very strong candidates who contribute greatly to Estonian-Latvian linguistic and cultural cooperation. I want to thank everyone whose efforts to bring our languages closer together are invaluable, and the jury for making this difficult decision,” said Foreign Minister Tsahkna. He added that even the title of Contra’s latest poetry collection “sounds almost like a hymn.”
Contra was recognised for his long-standing and dedicated work in bringing Latvian literature to Estonian readers. The decisive contribution this year was his translation of the anthology The Homeland of the Alphabet: The First Collection of Latvian Conceptual Poetry of the Third Millennium (published by ; Paranoia, 2024). The collection introduces Estonian audiences to leading contemporary Latvian conceptual poets, including Anna Auziņa, Elvīra Bloma, Kārlis Vērdiņš, Arvis Viguls and Artis Ostups.
This is the second time Contra has won the award – he first received it in 2014. The jury highlighted his continuous and passionate contribution to bringing Estonian and Latvian literature closer together.
The Estonian-Latvian Language Award, valued at 5,000 euros and jointly funded by the foreign ministries of both countries, honours translators, linguists, teachers and language project leaders for their achievements in promoting Estonian and Latvian. A joint jury of ministry representatives and language experts selects the laureates.
This year marked the 16th time the award has been presented. Previous recipients include Maima Grīnberga, Guntars Godinš, Kalev Kalkun, Valts Ernštreits, Livia Viitol, Rūta Karma, Ilze Tālberga, Lembit Vaba, Daila Ozola, Hea Lugu and Karl Pajusalu.