Jānis Akuraters (13 January 1876 – 25 July 1937) was a Latvian poet, writer, playwright and politician. He founded the

Latvian National Theatre The Latvian National Theatre () is one of the leading professional theatres in Latvia. The building is in the eclectic style and is an architectural and artistic monument. The country of Latvia was proclaimed in this building in the year 1918. O ...

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 Jēkabpils Municipality () is a municipality in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Ābeļi Parish, Dignāja Parish, Dunava Parish, Kalna Parish, Leimaņi Parish, Rubene Parish and Zasa Parish. During the Adm ...

). His father was a forester. Akuraters studied in a Birži primary school and later in the

Jēkabpils Jēkabpils () is a state city in Jēkabpils Municipality in southeastern Latvia, located roughly halfway between the capital Riga and Daugavpils, and spanning the Daugava River. The name of the city literally translates into "Castle of Jacob". H ...

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 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 ...

. 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 Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...

studies. In 1904 he returned to Latvia and turned to poetry. Akuraters participated in the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

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 that focuses on the topic of art. They can be in printed form, found online or both and can be aimed at different audiences which includes galleries, art buyers, amateur or professional artists and the general publi ...

''Pret Sauli''. In 1907 Akuraters was again arrested and deported to

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

, Russia. From there he managed to get to Finland, and from there to Sweden, finally settling in Norway. 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 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 ...

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 () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

3rd Class in 1926.

Legacy

Jānis Akuraters house in Riga's Torņakalns neighbourhood built in 1933 by architect Verners Vitands 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
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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 and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

but in his prose works dominates

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akuraters, Janis 1876 births 1937 deaths People from Jēkabpils Municipality People from Jaunjelgava county Members of the People's Council of Latvia Latvian poets Male poets from the Russian Empire Latvian Riflemen