Fricis Bārda (25 January 1880 – 13 March 1919) was a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, particularly noted for his interest in philosophical and

pantheistic Pantheism can refer to a number of Philosophy, philosophical and Religion, religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arise ...

themes.

Biography

Fricis Bārda was born in the Pociema district, on the rural estate of ''Rumbiņi''. He studied at the local school in Pociems, in Umurga, and at the Limbaži city school. From 1898 to 1901 he attended the

Valka Valka (; ) is a town and municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele. Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan " ...

s teachers seminary, then located in

Rīga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. From 1901 he worked as an assistant teacher in Katlakalns's school, but in 1906 traveled to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. There he studied philosophy, and followed concepts of

idealism Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysics, metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, Spirit (vital essence), spirit, or ...

, and gained an enthusiasm for German Romantic writers. After a year he returned to Latvia, and worked as a teacher at the Atis Ķeniņš's school in Rīga. During this period he contributed to the magazines "Stari" and "Zalktis", he met and associated with the composer

Emīls Dārziņš Emīls Dārziņš (November 3, 1875 – August 31, 1910) was a Latvian composer, conductor and music critic. Dārziņš' work bears a distinct romantic character, with a strong trend towards national themes. His main musical authorities and i ...

, and the painter

Janis Rozentāls Janis Rozentāls (March 18, 1866 – December 26, 1916) was a Latvian people, Latvian painter. Life Rozentāls was born in Bebri Farmstead, Saldus parish, Courland Governorate in the Russian Empire. He was the son of a blacksmith. He recei ...

. He also attended the drama lectures of Jēkabs Duburs. In 1917 Bārda was a teacher at the high school he instituted in

Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...

, and later became a school inspector. He also became Reader in Latvian language and literature at the Baltic Technical Institute. During most of latter part of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Bārda was a refugee in Russia. He returned to Latvia in 1918, but died in 1919 of a kidney disease he had been suffering from since his time in Vienna.

Main works

In 1911 he published his first collection of poems, ''Zemes dēls'' (''Son of the Land''), and his only collection to be published during his lifetime. His other major collection, ''Dziesmas un lūgšanas Dzīvības Kokam'' (''Songs and Prayers for the Tree of Life''), was published in 1919. Bārda is considered an exponent of romantic poetry, reacting to the prevalent realism of the preceding years. His treatments of traditional poetic themes – one's home land, love, nature, life, death, the soul, and eternity – are given original imagery and rhythms, and presented in philosophical generalisations. His poems have been translated into Russian, English, German and Polish. Some of his poems have also been set to music.Cikls ar Friča Bārdas dzeju «Un cycle de poèmes de Fricis Bārda», Hyperion Records
/ref>

References

External links

associated with Fricis Bārda at the Latvian Academic Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Barda, Fricis 1880 births 1919 deaths People from Limbaži Municipality People from Valmiera county Latvian male poets Romantic poets 20th-century Latvian poets 20th-century Latvian male writers 20th-century Latvian educators