Vilis Kasims (1986) is a Latvian author, translator, editor and literary agent. His first novel, a satirical tale of an attempt to great a new society in a forgotten part of Latvia, "The Great Big World", came out in 2015, followed by a collection of psychedelic flash fiction, "Acid Blues", in 2020, and a more melancholy novella, "In Atvari" in 2023. He translates from English, Russian, Catalan and Spanish and has around 20 published translations so far, including Frank Herbert's "Dune", Sergei Dovlatov's "The Zone" and Bob Dylan's "Chronicles. Volume One". Originally from a small village in Northern Latvia, he has lived and worked in London and Barcelona, but has settled down in Riga now.
Books to fall for
Will Mawhood. Vilis Kasims' Dreamlike visions of Latvia // Deep Baltic, December 2023 [EN]
Arnis Koroševskis Par Viļa Kasima krājumu 'Lizergīnblūzs' [About the collection 'Acid Blues' by Vilis Kasims], review of "Acid Blues" // delfi.lv, 2021 [LV]
Betija Zvejniece "Cita lielā pasaule" [The Other Big World], review of "Acid Blues" // Online magazine Punctum, 2021 [LV]
Lysergic Blues: Vilis Kasims' Dreamlike Visions of Latvia, review of Acid Blues // deepbaltic.com, 2022 [ENG]
Interview with Vilis Kasims // Online magazine Punctum, 2020 [LV]
Interview with Vilis Kasims // Delfi.lv, 2015 [LV]