Today in our round-up we look at the Latvian poetry translated into Persian, the metro line to be named for a poet and the poet celebrated with cake.

Latvian Poetry Translated into Persian

A collection of poetry written by Imants Ziedonis, the Latvian writer, has been translated into Persian. The announcement of the translation was made by the former Latvian culture minister Jaunzeme-Grende during a recent seminar on Ziedonis. This news comes at the same time as one regarding the Latvian translation that has been completed on the works of Jalal ad-Din Rumi, the Persian mystic and poet.

Rumi played a huge influence in the work of Ziedonis who was very interested in the ideas behind mysticism he had access to a Russian translation of Rumi’s Masnavi-ye Manavi which was a significant source of inspiration to him when it came to writing his own poetry. He learned later that whilst Rumi’s work had been translated into a number of different languages there was no Latvian translation.

Talking further about the matter, the minister mentioned that a selection of poetry by Sohrab Sepehri would also shortly be translated into Latvian. There are plans to hold a seminar dedicated to both poets in Riga and Tehran next year, when they are hoping to make a collaboration with Book City Institute in the hope of strengthening relations between the two countries.

West Midland Transport Plans See Poet Honoured

Plans for the transport system in the West Midlands, totalling a billion pounds, will see improvements and expansions to the underground lines as well as 21 new railway stations – creating a transport network not unlike that of the London underground.

The ambitious plan is expected to take around 20 years to complete and will also include a staggering 380 new stops and 8 new Metro lines which will link some of the key sites in the vicinity.

Whilst the ideas may only be in the planning stage, it has already been decided that the new lines will be named for prominent figures from the West Midlands; the MacArthur line for Mary MacArthur the women’s trade unionist, the Zephaniah line for Benjamin Zephaniah the poet, and the Lee Woods line for Mary Lee Woods, the scientist and mathematician.

It is hoped that the plans will bring the areas transport links in line with those of Manchester and London and not leave them behind. The new network will also help to create better links between the city centre and the outskirts as well as adding links to places that currently have few or no links. The City centre has been the subject of a significant program of regeneration for a number of years now.

Poet”s Birthday Celebrated

Flags have been flying in Finland today to celebrate the birth of the national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg.

The poet lived during the 1800s and is the writer behind the words of the national anthem of Finland, he also wrote some of the most celebrated literary works to come out of the country.

A cake name for the poet will also feature heavily in the day”s celebrations. Flavoured with almond, the Runeberg cake was first made by the poet”s wife and is now a popular choice of celebration for the life of the poet, who played such an important part in the literary life of the country.