Aleksandrs Caks's poetry is a meditation on the drama of twentieth-century history as well as on the human soul. His poetic vision is effectively rendered by a blending of inspirations drawn from both Latvian and European literary traditions. His creativity and innovations had a profound impact on the evolution of Latvian poetry, both in terms of content and style.

He was born Aleksandrs Cadarainis on 27 October 1901 in Riga, the only child of Janis Cadarainis, a tailor, and his German wife, Emily (née Frey). His childhood was spent in the center of Riga, which was then a provincial outpost of the Russian Empire. The sights and sounds of the old city were thus an early formative experience that eventually manifested itself as a distinctly urban-centered worldview. Two other notable influences were the books he loved to read and his visits to the theater. From 1911 to 1914 Caks attended...