Anna Sakse

Along with Vilis Lācis and Andrejs Upīts, Anna Sakse (1905– 1981) is one of the most contradictory figures in Latvian literature. Her stories and prose for children are still much read and beloved, but her political work and prose for adults have, in the opinion of many, irretrievably stained her legacy. Anna Sakse was born into a poor family of farmers. She studied pedagogy and philology, and worked as a translator and editor. By the time of Latvia’s interwar independence years, she had already become involved in the work of the Communist underground, and during the Second World War she moved to the Soviet Union, where she worked at the newspaper “Cīņa” in Kirov. On returning to Latvia, she focused on literary work and worked in the Soviet peace defence committee. The author received many Soviet awards and commendations.
 Sakse’s three adults’ novels – Darba cilts [Labour Tribe], Pret kalnu [Towards the Mountain], and Dzirksteles naktī [Sparks in the Night]
– were all mostly devoted to glorifying Soviet power and its ideology, as well as criticising the government and culture of pre-war Latvia. Along
with praising her “class precision” and “expressions of social justice”, the critics of that time also noted the subtle and nuanced descriptions of the female characters in Sakse’s works, as well as the ethically clear, strong heroes in the stories, who follow their ideals and never retreat in the face of opposition. Nowadays this aspect of her prose seems more propaganda- like than her children’s literature.

Children's literature
Kas ir vismīļākais? [Who is the most beloved?] (1975)
Māsiņa smaida [Sister Smile] (1973)
Puķu zirnītis [Little Flower] (1969)
Varavīksne [Rainbow] (1968)
Māmiņa [Mummy] (1967)
Pasakas par ziediem [Flower Stories] (1966)
Gunas darba diena [Guna's Working Day] (1965)
Kalējdēls Kaspars [Kaspar the son of Blacksmith] (1964)
Pīķa kunga stāsts [Story of the King of Spades] (1962)
Tēva dāvana [Father's Gift] (1961)
Laimes kalējs [Blacksmith of Happiness] (1960)
Pasakas mazajiem [Fairy tales for the Young] (1960)
Lidojums uz mēnesi [Flight to the Moon] (1958)
Čitas burtnīca [Notebook of Chita] (1958)
Lido, mans putns! [Fly My Bird!] (1957)
Pēdējais divnieks [Last Low Grade] (1950)
Mārītes piecgade [Marite's five-year] (1948)
Jaunā maiņa [New Shift] (1947)
Trīs šķūnīši [Three Barns] (1945)

Prose 
Stāsti [Stories] (1976)
Nokaltis zars [Dead Branch] (1968)
Māra (1951)
Dzirksteles naktī [Sparks in the Night] (1951)
Lūzums [Fracture] (1949)
Pret kalnu [Towards the Mountain] (1948)
Skarbais piesities [Harsh Touch] (1946)
Atgriešanās dzīvē [Coming Back to Life] (1945)
Darba cilts [Labour Tribe] (1941)

Essays
Vēstules jaunībai [Letters to Youth] (1979)
Par vācu fašistisko briesmoņu zvērībām Latvijā [On German Fascist Atrocity in Latvia] (1945)

Audio recording of Anna Sakse fairy tale Violet // Latvijas Sabiedriskie Mediji, 2019 [LV]

Audio recordings of Flower Stories // Pasakas.net [LV]

1965, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic People's Writer Award 

1959, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Award for Sparks in the Night

1949, USSR Award for Towards the Mountain 

1946, Order of the Red Star 

1945, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Culture Award