Books By Aleksandrs Caks - Author

Aleksandrs Caks (1901-1950), born Aleksandrs Cadarainis, was a Latvian poet and writer. Caks is arguably the first Latvian writer whose works are distinctly urban, compared to the usual depictions of country life or small villages in earlier Latvian literature. With the outbreak of the First World War his high school was evacuated first to Estonia, and then to Saransk, Russia. In 1918 Caks began to study medicine in Moscow, and attended literary evenings with the Futurists and other avant-garde groups. In 1920 he was drafted into the Red Army, serving as a medical orderly. In 1922 Caks returned to his homeland, and resumed his studies, but soon lost interest and resigned his university place. In 1925 he obtained a teacher's certificate and became a primary-school teacher and administrator. In 1928 Caks established a magazine for young Latvian writers, and was fully involved in Riga's literary scene. He later worked as a bank clerk, gave lectures on literature, and also worked as a technical editor in the As