Imants Ziedonis

Please add an image!
Birth Date:
03.05.1933
Death date:
27.02.2013
Length of life:
79
Days since birth:
33204
Years since birth:
90
Days since death:
4049
Years since death:
11
Extra names:
Имант Зиедонис
Categories:
Cross of Merit, Order of Latvian, Laureate of state prize, Member of Parliament, Order of the Three Stars (Latvia), Poet, Politician, Public figure, Publicist, Screenwriter, Writer
Nationality:
 latvian
Cemetery:
Lapmežciema pagasts, Ragaciema kapi

Imants Ziedonis (May 3, 1933) is a Latvian poet who first rose to fame during the Soviet occupation period of Latvia.

Early life

Ziedonis was born in the Sloka fisherman's district of Jūrmala, Latvia. He was educated at the University of Latvia in Riga where he earned a degree in philology in 1959. He earned an additional degree in advanced literature in Moscow in 1964. As a young man, Ziedonis worked in a wide variety of jobs ranging from librarian to road construction worker and from teacher to literary editor.

Imants Ziedonis

Ziedonis published his first major collection of poetry 'Zemes un sapņu smilts' ('Sand of earth and dreams') in 1961. By the end of the decade, he had established himself as among the preeminent voices of Latvian literature through publishing three more important collections of poetry: 'Sirds dinamīts' (1963, 'The heart's dynamite'), 'Motocikls' (1965, 'Motorcycle'), and 'Es ieeju sevī' (1968, 'I go into myself').

During the same period, Ziedonis began publishing work besides poetry. His 1965 Dzejnieka dienasgrāmata (1965, A Poet's Diary) and two years later his (1967, Along the Foamy Path) established his prose writing reputation as well. His reputation established, Ziedonis rose to become the Chairman of the Writers' Union Board and Chairman of the Latvian Culture Foundation. Ziedonis considered defecting to the West but chose to remain in Latvia to preserve from what he perceived as Russian destruction the best of Latvian literature in the National Library. 

In the 1970s Ziedonis became interested in the roots of Latvian folk culture. To this end, he built a house in the countryside outside the town of Murjāņi. The very act of building a house as private property was a defiant act in Latvia during the Soviet occupation period, so the choice to do so was in some respects a political statement. Ziedonis, however, emphasized his desire to establish his roots with the countryside. It was during this period that he began to collect and write folk tales and children's books. These included Krāsainās pasakas (1973,Colored Tales), Lāču pasaka (1976, Tales of Bears) and Blēņas un pasakas (1980, Twaddle and Tales). His children's book Kas tas ir — kolhozs? (1984, What is a Kolkhoz?) directly addressed the kolkhoz or Soviet collective farm in an era when the collective system was under increasing scrutiny in Latvia as elsewhere in the USSR.

Ziedonis maintained an odd balance between dissidence and acceptance in the Soviet occupation era. As one of the most open voices in poetry during the Soviet occupation era, he repeatedly risked appearing as a dissident to the Soviet leaders. A leading voice in the perestroika period toward the end of the Soviet occupation era, Ziedonis was an outspoken advocate of freer expression and the growth of the Latvian Cultural Fund. This was particularly evident in his first published collection of essays Garainis, kas veicina vārīšanos (1976,Steam That Promotes Boiling). At the same time, Ziedonis never fully broke with the Soviet authorities. Indeed, in 1977, the year following his inflammatory essays, the Soviet government awarded him the National Poet of Soviet Latvia prize.

Following Latvian independence from the Soviet Union, Ziedonis in 1995 was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia's highest honor for civic merit to the nation.

Source: wikipedia.org, news.lv, latvijaslaudis.lv, diena.lv

No places

    loading...

        Relations

        Relation nameRelation typeBirth DateDeath dateDescription
        1
        Jānis ZiedonisFather04.01.190800.00.1980
        2
        Anna ZiedoneMother04.11.191109.06.1977
        3
        Daila ZiedoneSister02.09.193517.11.2003
        4
        Ritma ZiedoneWife22.07.193100.02.2008
        5Ausma  KantāneAusma KantāneWife10.11.194129.05.2022
        6
        Sofija GervjatovskaGrandmother21.01.188305.03.1970

        30.11.1919 | The Latvian National Theatre

        Submit memories

        19.11.1920 | Nodibināts Dailes Teātris

        Submit memories

        01.06.1988 | Radošo savienību Plēnums

        Pirms PSKP 19.Vissavienības konferences Rīgā 1988. gada 1. un 2. jūnijā notika Radošo savienību Plēnums, kuras darbs beidzās ar Rezolūciju, kura pamatīgi izmainīja sabiedriski politisko dzīvi Latvijā, kā arī guva plašu rezonansi ne tikai visā Padomju Savienībā, bet arī ārpus tās. Latvijas PSR Rakstnieku savienības valdes plēnums ar republikas Arhitektu, Dizaineru, Kinematogrāfistu, Komponistu, Mākslinieku, Teātra darbinieku, Žurnālistu savienību vadītāju un ekspertu piedalīšanos notika Kongresu namā - liela un pamatīga pilsoniska uzdrīkstēšanās, trešās Atmodas sākums.

        Submit memories

        10.07.1988 | Nodibināta Latvijas Nacionālās Neatkarības Kustība (LNNK)

        Submit memories

        18.03.1990 | Latvijas PSR Augstākās padomes vēlēšanas

        Submit memories

        04.05.1990 | Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia

        Submit memories

        21.08.1991 | Latvija pieņem konstitucionālo likumu Par Latvijas Republikas valstisko statusu

        Augusta pučs (krievu: Августовский путч) bija neveiksmīgs valsts apvērsuma mēģinājums Padomju Savienībā 1991. gada 19.—21. augustā ar mērķi gāzt prezidentu Mihailu Gorbačovu un izbeigt viņa uzsākto valsts demokratizācijas procesu, kā arī nepieļaut Savienības līguma, kas paredzēja reformēt Padomju Savienību, parakstīšanu. LR AP pieņēma Konstitucionālo likumu „Par Latvijas Republikas valstisko statusu”, kurā noteica, ka tālākas sarunas ar PSRS varas un pārvaldes iestādēm par neatkarības atjaunošanu vairs nav iespējamas

        Submit memories

        Tags