Dear TBT,
For the first time the European Union Prize for Literature 2008 was given to authors from all 27 member states of the EU. The first 12 winning authors were given their prizes in a ceremony on behalf of the EC by Manuel Barroso and Jan Figel. All of [the countries] were represented, the Baltic states by Laura Sintija Cerniuauskaite.
The book awarded was 'Breathing into Marble,' published by Alma Littera House in 2006. She was presented as a young and gifted author, a future talent among literature.
The European cultural forum gave space for other cultural manifestations of the Baltic states, for the Riga city council, and Latvia, for a music festival called the music inspiration landscape. The choirs are singing Carl Orff and the Carmina Burana. Both Baltic contributions were warmly and heartily applauded and the cultural community of the European Commission in Brussels is waiting for the next turn next year.
Footnote: European culture forum Brussels, September 29 's 30, 2009, and the European Union Prize for Literature, September 28, 2009.
Dr. Sabine Stadler
Vienna
