Mārtiņš Zīverts (27 July 1903 in Mežmuiža, Vilce parish – 4 October 1990 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

) was a Latvian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Biography

Zīverts was born in Mežmuiža,

Courland Governorate Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland or Governorate of Kurland, and known from 1795 to 1796 as the Viceroyalty of Courland, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the ...

(now Vilce parish,

Jelgava municipality Jelgava Municipality () is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, municipality in Zemgale, Latvia. Its administrative center is Jelgava, although it is extraterritorial as the city is a separate municipality of its own. The municipality was formed ...

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 ...

). He studied philosophy at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

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 ...

, later working as an editor and dramaturgist at the National Theater in Riga. He came to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

as a refugee in 1944. While he often worked as a laborer, he continued to write and direct plays, and served as chairman of the Latvian PEN center. He wrote more than 50 plays in several genres.

Work

* Hasana harēms, 1927 * Nafta, 1931 * Kropļi, 1933 * Zelta zeme, 1933 * Galvu aukšā, 1935 * Āksts, 1936 * kolka, 1937 * Galvu augšā!, 1937 * Tīreļpurvs, 1937 * Partizāni, 1938 * Trakais juris, 1939 * Cilvēks grib dzīvot, 1939 * Ķīnas vāze, 1940 * Minhauzena precības, 1941 * Nauda, 1943 * Pāveste, 1944 * Vara, 1944 * Karātavu komēdija, 1946 * Divkauja, 1946 * Kāds, kura nav, 1947 * Zaļā krūze, 1949 * Rūda, 1954 * Čūska, 1960. * Meli meklē meli, 1962 * Pēdējā laiva, 1967 * Kaļostro Vilcē, 1967 * Nauda, 1967 * Rīga dimd, 1968 * Totēms, 1972 * Kopenhāgenas dialogs, 1980 * Teātris,1988 * Par sevi: autobiogrāfija, intervijas, vēstules, 1992

Adaptations

In 1992 a Lithuanian director Juozas Sabolius has made a two-part costume drama based on Zīverts' play "Vara" (''Power'') about the life of Lithuania's king

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

which was aired by Lithuania's national broadcaster.

Footnotes

1903 births 1990 deaths People from Jelgava Municipality People from Dobele county Latvian writers Latvian dramatists and playwrights University of Latvia alumni Latvian World War II refugees Latvian emigrants to Sweden {{Latvia-writer-stub