caption death_place birth_place imagesize nationality birth_date image article_title name
aleksandrs Čaks in 1945 rīga , border rīga , border 180px latvian 27 october 1901 aleksandrscaks.jpg aleksandrs Čaks
 aleksandrs Čaks
aleksandrs Čaks

aleksandrs Čaks -lrb- october 27 , 1901 -- february 8 , 1950 -rrb- , born aleksandrs Čadarainis , was a latvian poet and writer .
Čaks 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 .
he was born in riga to a tailor 's family , and , continuing to live in riga , he followed the city 's life in his poetry .
Čaks published his first poetry book , `` seši '' , in 1928 , dedicated to riga and its life .
these poems included topics and characters previously not shown in latvian poetry - the city night life , homeless people , prostitutes , poor suburbs , even the sewers in blockhouses .
in his works , Čaks shows his deep love for riga as it is , which is well seen in the title of a poem , `` heart on the pavement '' .
riga is not the only subject of his poems , though - Čaks also wrote romantic poetry and works dedicated to the latvian riflemen .
Čaks also wrote some short stories , although they are generally not as well known as his poems .
in 1949 , with latvia being a part of the soviet union , Čaks was accused of straying from marxist values and writing politically incorrect works .
the accusations weakened Čaks 's health , and he died of heart disease on february 8 , 1950 .
currently , one of the central streets of riga is named for him .
there 's also a memorial museum in that street and a statue in nearby ziedoņdārzs park .
