What is the poetry scene like in Latvia and Lithuania? What trends are discernible in the writing of younger generations and how accessible is it to publish a first book in those countries? Lastly, how important is the literary scene for smaller countries with a smaller number of native speakers, and why? This year, the poetry festival Days of Poetry and Wine in Ptuj hosted its first literary residency for two guests, already well-established artists in their respective countries: Dovilė Bagdonaitė from Lithuania and Artis Ostups from Latvia. We talked about their experiences with the residency, the solitude of living abroad for a month and discussed their recent projects. We found that Slovenia is not the only country that is being hailed as the country of poets. Dovilė Bagdonaitė (1991, Lithuania) is a visual artist and poet. A graduate of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Bagdonaitė earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in monumental painting before pursuing a doctoral degree and receiving the title of Doctor of Arts in 2022. She’s active in the field of visual art and has created works for display in the public spaces of Vilnius. Her second book Tracks_in_the_grass was published in 2022 and short-listed by the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore among the Top 12 Most Creative Books of 2022 and the Top 5 Poetry Books of 2022. Artis Ostups (1988, Latvia) is a poet, critic and researcher. He is employed at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia, and since 2014 he has been the editor-in-chief of the online magazine Punctum. Currently studying comparative literature at the University of Tartu, he previously studied philosophy at the University of Latvia. His first poetry collection Biedrs Sniegs (Comrade Snow, 2010) was nominated for Best Debut. His second poetry collection, Fotografieja un skäres (Photography and Scissors, 2013), received many responses from literary critics and devoted readers.