Anšlavs Eglītis (October 14, 1906 – March 4, 1993) was a Latvian writer, journalist and painter who became a war refugee in 1944. He had a prolific career as a novelist, and his later work often examined aspects of exile life.

Biography

Anšlavs Eglītis was born in

Riga 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 ...

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 ...

, the first of two children born to the writer

Viktors Eglītis Viktors Eglītis (15 April 1877 – 20 April 1945) was a Latvian writer and art theorist. He was a leading figure in the Latvian decadent movement and an introducer of modernist poetics. Early life Viktors Eglītis was born in Sarkaņi Paris ...

and the teacher and translator Marija Eglīte, née Stalbova. His father was one of the most notable representatives of

Decadence Decadence was a late-19th-century movement emphasizing the need for sensationalism, egocentricity, and bizarre, artificial, perverse, and exotic sensations and experiences. By extension, it may refer to a decline in art, literature, science, ...

in Latvian literature. During 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 ...

, his family lived in other parts of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, but returned to Latvia in 1918. For a short time they settled in

Alūksne Alūksne () is a town on the shores of Lake Alūksne in the Vidzeme region of Latvia near the borders with Estonia and Russia. It is the seat of the Alūksne municipality. Alūksne is the highest elevated Latvian city, located in East Vidzem ...

. After 1919, his family lived in

and Eglītis started his studies in Riga City gymnasium No. 2. He also studied painting in the studio of a Latvian painter

Voldemārs Tone Voldemārs is a Latvian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the Germanic " Waldemar". Voldemārs may refer to: *Voldemārs Elmūts (1910–1966), Latvian basketball player * Voldemārs Lūsis (born 1974), Latvian athlete, javelin thrower, O ...

at this time. The family spent all their summer holidays in Inciems cottage, which he later described in his novel ''Pansija pilī'' (1962). He caught

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1925. His mother, who suffered pulmonary disease, died in 1926, during his stay in

Leysin Leysin is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in the Aigle (district), Aigle district of Switzerland. It is first mentioned around 1231–32 as ''Leissins'', in 1352 as ''Leisins''. Located ...

sanatorium. In 1930, his father remarried the artist and writer

Hilda Vīka Hilda Vīka (5 November 1897 – 14 February 1963), also known as Hilda Vīka-Eglīte, was a Latvian artist and writer. She made stylised watercolour and oil paintings of everyday life and dreamy visions. She wrote poetry, short stories and novels ...

, whose works and personality came to influence Anšlavs' literature. He continued his studies in the

Art Academy of Latvia The Art Academy of Latvia () is an institution of higher education and scientific research in art, located in Riga, Latvia. The neo-Gothic brick building is located on Krišjānis Valdemārs Street, next to the National Museum of Art. In aut ...

and graduated in 1935. After graduation, he worked as a teacher of drawing. In 1936 his first collection of novels, ''Maestro'' was published. In 1938 Eglītis started to work as a journalist in the biggest Latvian newspaper ''

Jaunākās ziņas ''Jaunākās Ziņas'' () was a newspaper published in Riga from 1911 to 1940 and was the largest and most influential paper of its era.Terzis, Georgios. ''European Journalism Education''. Intellect Bristol, UK/Chicago USA. 2009. The newspaper was ...

''. In 1940, he also collaborated on the magazine ''

Atpūta ''Atpūta'' () was a weekly illustrated magazine which was published in Latvia between 1911 and 1912 and then from 1924 and 1940. It was the most read popular magazine in the 1920s and in the 1930s. The magazine was one of the publications which ...

''. He left Riga for

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

in October 1944 and later fled to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he settled in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. During the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

his flat was destroyed in an air raid, and Eglītis moved to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In 1950, he moved to California, US. His father, writer Viktors Eglītis, was arrested, tortured and killed in the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

building in Riga in 1945. His grave is unknown. In his American exile, Eglītis wrote more than 50 novels and short stories. Parallel to his literature career he became a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

and

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

for the Latvian newspaper ''Laiks'' published in Brooklyn, New York, which also serialized a number of his novels. In 1957, his ''Neierasta Amerika'' began to be serialized in the Soviet Latvian magazine ''Zvaigzne'', but it was immediately qualified as an 'import of bourgeois nationalism' and soon discontinued. The success of his works resides in their avangardist flavour combined with loyalty to the popular taste. In post-Soviet Latvia, his ''Shameless Old Men'', directed by Mihail Kublinskis, is one of the most successful productions of the National Theater. He died of cancer in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1993. In 2006, the

Latvian Post VAS Latvijas Pasts () is the main state-owned postal service provider in Latvia headquartered in Riga. It was founded on 2 January 1992, following shortly after the restoration of independence of the country. History Latvia Post was founded o ...

issued a commemorative stamp in honor of Eglītis. A monument to the writer was installed in 2008 in Inciems. In 2018, a movie was made based on the motifs of A. Eglītis novel "Homo Novus", which describes the passion in the life of Riga artists of the late 30s. Created in honor of Latvia 100.

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eglitis, Anslavs 1906 births 1993 deaths Writers from Riga People from Riga county 20th-century Latvian writers Latvian journalists 20th-century journalists Latvian World War II refugees Latvian emigrants to the United States Deaths from cancer in California Art Academy of Latvia alumni