User:Vecrumba/Rainis

cloned July 31, 2007 for off-line work
Rainis, was the pseudonym of Jānis Pliekšans (b. September 11 1865 in Varslavāni, current Jekabpils district &mdash; father Krišjānis (a tenant farmer), mother Dārta, born Grikovska &mdash; d. September 12, 1929 in Majori), a poet, playwright, translator, and politician who is considered to be the greatest Latvian writer. He was married to Azpāzija (pseudonym of Elza Pliekšane, born Rozenberga), another Latvian poet and playwright. Rainis' works include the classic plays Uguns un nakts (Fire and Night, 1905) and Indulis un Ārija (Indulis and Ārija, 1911) and a highly regarded translation of Goethe's Faust. His oeuvre had a profound influence on the literary Latvian language, and the folkloric symbolism he employed in his major works has been central to Latvian nationalism.

Rainis studied law at the University of St. Petersburg. Still a student, Rainis was already collecting folk songs, was writing satirical and lyric poetry, and translating literature. Together with Pēteris Stučka (later to become a prominent Latvian communist and Rainis' brother-in-law, married to Rainis' sister Dora ) he edited a collection of epigrams and satire, Mazie dunduri (The Small Gad-flies) and published Apdziedāšanas dziesmas (Mocking Songs) about the third Song Festival. After completing his studies, he worked at the Vilnius regional court and with Andrejs Stērsts in Jelgava. Rainis wrote for Dienas Lapa (The Daily Sheet), Tēvija (Fatherland) and the Latvian Conversational Dictionary. From 1891 to 1895 Rainis was editor in chief of Dienas Lapa.

In 1897 Russian authorities deported him to Pleskov and later settled him in Vyatka guberniya (now Kirov Oblast). In exile, Rainis translated Faust and other works from classical literature. Here he also produced his first collection of poems, Tālas noskaņas (Far Off Moods).

Rainis was also socially active and politically prominent, being one of the spiritual leaders of the Revolution of 1905 in Latvia and central to the New Current movement that led to it. With the failure of the Revolution, he emigrated to Switzerland together with his wife Aspāzija, settling in Castagnola, a suburb of Lugano. As an émigré, Rainis authored:


 * plays — Zelta Zirgs (The Golden Horse), Jāzeps un viņa brāļi (Joseph and His Brothers), Spēlēju, dancoju (I Played, I Sang), Daugava (The Daugava, 1916), and Ģirts Vilks;
 * poetry — Klusā grāmata (The Quiet Book), Vēja nesta lapas (Leaves Upon the Wind), Tie, kas neaizmirst (Those, Who Do Not Forget), Gals un sākums (The End and the Beginning), Ave sol, and Sveiki brīvā Latvija (Hello, Free Latvia).

His dramatic ballad Daugava contained the first explicit demand for Latvian sovereignty &mdash; "Land, land, what is that land demanded in our song? / Land, that is a state." Those lines were stricken by the censor when the work was first published in Moscow. After the defeat of Bermondt-Avalov's forces at Rīga in November 1919, the ballad was given a performance at the National Theater to mark the first anniversary of Latvia's proclamation of independence; many soldiers carried this work into battle.

Rainis and Aspāzija returned to Latvia on April 4, 1920. Rainis, as member of the Central Committee of the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, resumed his political activities and was member of the Satversmes sapulce (Constituent Assembly) and Saeima (Parliament) and of the Ministry of Education Arts Department, founder/director of the Dailes Theater and director of the National Theater from 1921 to 1925, Minister of Education from December, 1926 to January, 1928, and a member of the Cultural Fund and (Military) Order of Lāčplēsis Council. During this period he authored:


 * plays — Ilja Mūromietis (Ilya Muromietis), Mīla stiprāka par nāvi (Love  is Stronger Than Death), Rīgas ragana (The Witch of Rīga);
 * poetry — Treji loki, Sudrabota gaisma (A Silvery Light), Mēness meitiņa (Moon Girl), Zelta sietiņš (The Gold Strainer), and others;
 * memoirs — Kastaņjola (Castagnola).

Rainis had the ambition of becoming Latvia's president and became less prominent in politics when this ambition was not fulfilled.

A number of Rainis' poetry collections were published posthumously: Sirds devējs, Dvēseles Dziesma, Lielās līnijas, and Aizas ziedi.

Rainis' statue at the Esplanāde in Rīga is a gathering-place that highlights the contradictions in how his multi-faceted career and works are interpreted; it is the focal point for the national poetry festival, always held on his birthday, as well as a focus for the left wing, from the Social Democrats to the radical opposition to Latvia's education reform (in part because of Rainis' support for minority schools; he was instrumental to the founding of Belarusian schools in Latvia). Similarly, criticism of his work has often been strongly affected by politics; while the Soviets emphasized his socialism (his image even appeared on a commemorative Soviet ruble coin; being buried next to Rainis' grave in Rainis' Cemetery in Rīga was an honor reserved for senior Soviet military), Daugava and other patriotic works were omitted from editions of Rainis' texts prior to the Third Awakening.