Liepāja
Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...
– 12 April 1974 in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
) was a Soviet and Latvian poet, writer and translator. She was a recipient of the State Prize of Latvian SSR (1958),
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1967), and the
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
.
Biography
Mirdza Ķempe was born into a working-class family in
Liepāja
Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...
, Latvia. From 1914 to 1926, she lived in Tosmare at Ģen. Baloža st., 47; later she and her family lived at Bernatu st., 41 in Liepāja. In 1915–1919, she studied at the 1st Liepāja primary school (now the 5th Liepāja school). Ķempe graduated from the 1st Liepāja secondary school in 1925. Her first verse, ''"Ne jums!"'', was published in the "Kurzemes Vārds" newspaper in 1923. In the same year, she translated
Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's '' Mozart and Salieri'' into the Latvian language. In 1927, she entered the
University of Latvia
University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919.
The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...
in Riga. Because of lack of money she had to drop out of the university and in 1928 Ķempe started to work as a
continuity announcer
In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...
for Rīgas radiofons. In 1931, she married writer Eriks Ādamsons.
She translated works from Russian, English, German, Spanish and French. During World War II, she was evacuated to Moscow,
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
and
Ivanovo
Ivanovo ( rus, Иваново, p=ɪˈvanəvə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia. It is the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vlad ...
. She wrote plays, lyric miniatures and verses.
Death and legacy
She was buried in Līvu cemetery in Liepāja.
On 9 February 1989 a monument to Mirdza Ķempe was opened in Liepāja (architect Ligita Ulmane), another in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
. A street in
Ezerkrasts
Ezerkrasts is one of the largest and most modern neighbourhoods of Liepāja, Latvia. It is located near the southern border of the city, on the western coast of Liepāja lake. Ezerkrasts named so after the naming contest in 1975, in which this na ...
district of Liepāja is named after her.
Poetry
Mirdza Ķempe published 15 collections of poetry, including "Rīta vejš" (1946), "Gaisma akmenī", "Ērkšķuroze" (Dog-rose, 1972), "Mīlestības krāšņais", "Dzintara spogulis" (1968), "Mirkļu mužiba" etc.
:Ne jums!
:"Ne jums es vaicāšu: kas grēks, kas kauns?
:Par velti draudiet man ar tumsas baismu!
:Es pati savu dzīvi celšu –
:Vienalga man, kur ceļam reiz būs gals..."
:Manai Liepājai
:"Jūras meita, Zemes māsa.
:Mana Liepāja, ko mīlu.
:Tavām acīm dzelmes krāsa,
:Kurā atspīd debess dzīle."
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1967) and the
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
. In 1971 she received
Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...