Poet Mara Zalite receives Latvia’s statehood award

Poet and playwright Mara Zalite has received this year’s Statehood Award for her outstanding contribution to strengthening Latvian statehood, LSM reports. The award was presented at a ceremony at Riga Castle on Friday, August 21.

The award is traditionally presented on the anniversary of the de facto restoration of Latvia’s independence.

President Edgars Rinkevics and former president Vaira Vike-Freiberga both paid tribute to Zalite’s contribution.

“If I had to describe the award recipient in one sentence, I would say that Mara Zalite is a person who can express in words what Latvia feels,” Rinkevics said. “Her works encourage us to see light in the future rather than darkness. One of our Awakening leaders. A leader of the Third Awakening. Through her words, she can turn darkness into light. With strong inner power, she can rejoice.”

Rinkevics added that giving even a moderately complete account of Zalite’s contribution would require speaking and singing for at least three days.

Zalite has written librettos for the rock operas “Lacplesis,” “Kaupen, My Beloved!,” and “The Chronicle of Indrikis,” as well as for the musical “The Ugly Duckling.” Her literary works include several collections of poetry and essays, books for children, and the autobiographical novels “Five Fingers” and “Birds of Paradise,” which recount her childhood.

She was awarded the Order of the Three Stars in 1995. The playwright has also received the Copyright Infinity Award several times and the Latvian Literature Annual Award. Most recently, in 2019, “Birds of Paradise” was named the best prose work.

Zalite was also a member of the Popular Front of Latvia. At the end of 2025, she received a lifetime scholarship from the State Culture Capital Foundation.

The Statehood Award was established by the Club of the May 4 Declaration association to promote respect and understanding of Latvian statehood.