Grot, Ianis Ianisovich

(also Grots). Born Jan. 27 (Feb. 9). 1901, in Silamujža, present-day Madona Raion, Latvian SSR; died Nov. 30, 1968, in Riga. Soviet Latvian poet.

The son of a peasant, Grot made his debut in Latvian poetry as a romantic and a rebel against bourgeois society, passionately affirming man’s future (for example, the collections The Torrents of Spring, 1925, and Evening Clouds, 1930). He wrote satirical plays about the Latvian bourgeoisie (Greetings to Free Latvia!, 1930) and lyric romantic dramas (for example, Pushkin, 1937. and Sten’ka Razin, 1932). Toward the end of the I930’s the tone of his poetry became sad and weary (In Deep Snow, 1939). Grot’s poetry of the Soviet period is imbued with the theme of friendship among nations and philosophic reflection (the collections The Morning Hour, 1946, and Evening Stories in the Village, 1959). His poetry is outstanding for its warmth and musicality.