AustLit

Janis Sarma studied agronomy for a short time, then transferred to a preparatory institute for teachers. Between 1904 and 1916 he studied at the art schools in Riga, Moscow and Penza, graduating from the first with a degree in portraiture and from the last with a degree in sculpture. He held several exhibitions in Latvia and later in Melbourne but from the 1950s he concentrated entirely on writing. During the period of Latvian independence, he taught both painting and sculpture, as well as languages and history in Latvian high schools. He published his first story, Spinoza, in 1928. Most of his stories have provided portraits of historical personages and in his work he has characterised Latvian provincial life and dealt with political issues. He has been considered one of the leading writers of prose in Latvian émigré literature.