Jānis Akuraters (13 January 1876 – 25 July 1937) was a Latvian poet, writer, playwright and politician. He founded the Latvian National Theatre in 1919 and was director of Radio of Riga between 1930 and 1934.

Biography

Akuraters was born on 13 January 1876 in Dignāja parish ''Jaunzemji'' homestead (Modern Jēkabpils municipality). His father was a forester. Akuraters studied in a Birži primary school and later in the

Jēkabpils Jēkabpils (; german: Jakobstadt; pl, Jakubów) is a state city in Jēkabpils Municipality in southeastern Latvia roughly halfway between Riga and Daugavpils and spanning the Daugava River. Historic Jēkabpils lies on the left bank, in Selonia ...

city school. After graduation, he passed the teachers exam and started work in schools. 1898 in Elkšņi, 1899–1901 in Jumurda and 1902 in Riga. In 1903 Akuraters went to Moscow to study medicine however he started to attend law lectures instead. In this period he also started Russian literature studies. In 1904 he returned to Latvia and turned to poetry. Akuraters participated in the Revolution of 1905 one of his most famous poems ''Ar kaujas saucieniem uz lūpām'' ('With battle cries on our lips') is dedicated to revolution. After the suppression of the revolution, he was arrested briefly and after release he published

art magazine An art magazine is a publication whose main topic is art. They can be in print form, online, or both and may be aimed at different audiences, including galleries, buyers, amateur or professional artists and the general public. Art magazines can be ...

''Pret Sauli''. In 1907 Akuraters was again arrested and deported to Pskov Oblast, Russia. From there he managed to get to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and from there to Sweden, finally settling in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. While in exile Akuraters wrote one of his famous works, his childhood memories ''Kalpa zēna vasara'' ('The servant boy's summer'). He returned to Latvia in 1908. During

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Akuraters enlisted in the Latvian Rifleman regiment and took part in the famous Christmas Battles. After the war Akuraters turned to politics. He was a member of Latvian National democratic party and was elected as a member of the People's Council in 1918. He participated in the declaration of the independence of Latvia on 18 November 1918. In later years he was a director of art department and director of Latvian Radio. Jānis Akuraters died on 25 July 1937 in Riga. He was awarded the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

3rd Class in 1926.

Legacy

Jānis Akuraters house in Riga's Torņakalns neighbourhood built in 1933 by architect

Verners Vitands Verners Vitands (July 3, 1903 – January 14, 1982) was Latvian architect. Vitands designed the Unity House in Daugavpils in 1936-1937. He was responsible for a number of important public buildings of 20th-century modernist design, better know ...

has been restored to its original condition and now houses poet's memorial museum.Address: Ojāra Vācieša Street 6A, Rīga. See page 32 ''Restoration of the Jānis Akuraters Museum'' i
RESTAURĒTIE KULTŪRAS PIEMINEKĻI LATVIJĀ 2016 RESTORED CULTURAL MONUMENTS IN LATVIA

Literature

Akuraters first publication was made in 1895 in the magazine ''Austrums'', it was a poem ''Ziema'' ('Winter'). During his lifetime are published 10 collections of poetry, 14 plays, many stories and novels. His poetry is close to

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

but in his prose works dominates expressionism.

References

1876 births 1937 deaths People from Jēkabpils Municipality People from Courland Governorate Members of the People's Council of Latvia Latvian poets Latvian Riflemen Poets from the Russian Empire {{Latvia-writer-stub