Anna Bērzkalne
Anna Bērzkalne | |
---|---|
Kazan Higher Women's Courses University of Tartu | |
Occupation(s) | educator, folklorist |
Years active | 1920–1956 |
Awards | Krišjānis Barons Prize (1933) |
Anna Bērzkalne (15 January 1891 – 1 March 1956) was a Latvian teacher and folklorist who founded the Archives of Latvian Folklore in 1924 and headed the organization for its first five years. Her analysis of Latvian folk ballads was awarded the Krišjānis Barons Prize in 1933. She was the first Latvian to earn a degree in Folkloric Studies and is recognized as one of the central figures in developing folkloric study as an academic discipline in Latvia.
Early life
Anna Bērzkalne was born on 15 January 1891 in Āriņš, Vējava Parish (now
Having qualified as a teacher, between 1909 and 1911 Bērzkalne taught at the Ķemeri School in the
Career
After receiving her diploma, Bērzkalne worked in Kazan at the Latvian Refugee School. She then headed the Department of Education Statistics and from 1919 worked at the Volga Water Transport Control.[1] In 1920, after the conclusion of the Latvian War of Independence, she returned to Latvia and began teaching at the Riga State Secondary School No. 2.[2] Though she did not particularly enjoy teaching Latvian language classes, the job provided her with a steady income and allowed her to carry on with her research.[3] She remained at School No. 2 until 1944.[1]
While still teaching, in 1922, Bērzkalne resumed her academic studies with Anderson, studying linguistics and folklore at the
In the 1930s, she published the Finnish international journal, Folklore Friends' Communications, analyzing various folk stories. In 1933, her publication as No. 123 in the series, Tipu rādītājs K. Barona Latvju dainu garākām dziesmām (Types of [Krišjānis] Barons' Longer Latvian Songs), was awarded the Krišjānis Barons Prize .[1][7] In 1935, Bērzkalne completed her doctoral studies in Tartu. She purposely wrote her thesis in English rather than German as a form of non-violent resistance against the Nazi occupation of Latvia during World War II.[3] She defended her thesis, The Song of the Youth Who Died in Sorrow: Its Primary Form and Latvian Versions, in 1942[3] and became the first Latvian folklorist to obtain a doctoral degree in comparative folkloristics.[10] Her degree was not recognized by the Soviet authorities.[2]
In 1945, the Archives of Latvian Folklore moved to the Institute of Folklore at the
Along with other scholars of the interwar period, Bērzkalne was ostracized for her past work and the new materials she tried to present which aligned with the ideals, though not the methodology, of the new Soviet themes, were rejected by publishers.[14] Unable to sustain basing her research on the "pseudo-scholarly Soviet principles", she openly criticized Niedre's methods and was terminated from her post.[15] Hoping to re-qualify by taking examinations in Moscow to continue with folkloric research, her plans were abandoned after health concerns forced her to move in with her brother's family. She became reliant on him for financial support.[15]
Death and legacy
Bērzkalne died on 1 March 1956 and was buried at the Forest Cemetery in Riga.[1][2] After her death, she was ignored during the Soviet period, but her work has been revived by post-Soviet scholars.[16] She is recognized as the first Latvian to earn a degree in Folkloric Studies and as the founder of the Archives of Latvian Folklore.[17] She is also considered a central figure in developing folkloric study as an academic discipline in Latvia.[8] The author of 52 studies, her publications attempted to bring both Latvian folklore to international audiences and bring international folklore to Latvian audiences.[18][19] Her papers are housed in the Academic Library of the University of Latvia.[20]
Selected works
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1927). "Mēmie pagasti" [Mute parishes]. Izglītības Ministrijas Mēnešraksts (in Latvian) (12). Riga, Latvia: Latvian Ministry of Education.[21]
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1937). Pamatjēdzieni par tautas dzeju [Basic Concepts of Folk Poetry] (in Latvian). Riga, Latvia: D. Zeltiņš.
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1938). "Typenverzeichnis lettischer Volksromanzen in der Sammlung Kr. Barons' 'Latvju Dainas'" [Type Index of Latvian Folk Ballads in K. Baron's Collection 'Latvju Dainas']. Folklore Fellows' Communications (in German) (123). Helsinki, Finland:
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1942). The Song of the Youth who Died in Sorrow. Its Primary Form and Latvian Versions (PhD). Tartu, Estonia: University of Tartu.[18]
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1949). Līdzīgi motīvi latviešu bezatskaņu četrrindās un krievu atskaņpantos (častuški) [Similar Motifs in Latvian Unrhymed Quatrains and Russian Rhymes (chastusha)] (in Latvian). unpublished manuscript submitted to the Archives of Latvian Folklore.[22]
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1949). Biedrs Staļins padomju tautu dziesmās [Comrade Stalin in the Songs of the Soviet Peoples] (in Latvian). unpublished manuscript submitted to the Latvijas Universitātes Akadēmiskā bibliotēka.[22]
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1950). V. I. Ļeņina tēls padomjtautu dzejā [V. I. Lenin in the Poetry of the Soviet Peoples] (in Latvian). unpublished manuscript submitted to the Latvijas Universitātes Akadēmiskā bibliotēka.[22]
- Bērzkalne, Anna (1950). Biedrs Staļins padomjtautu dziesmās kā sociālistiskās celsmes vadītājs [Comrade Stalin as the Leader of Constructing Socialism in the Songs of the Soviet Peoples] (in Latvian). unpublished manuscript submitted to the Latvijas Universitātes Akadēmiskā bibliotēka.[22]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h Latviešu folkloras krātuve 2001.
- ^ a b c d e f Stars n.d.
- ^ a b c d e f g Treija 2019, p. 24.
- ^ Oinas 1973, pp. 45–46.
- ^ a b Ķencis 2012, p. 80.
- ^ Ķencis 2012, p. 84.
- ^ a b c d Eversone & Raudive 2019.
- ^ a b Treija 2011, p. 160.
- ^ Ķencis 2012, pp. 80–81.
- ^ Ķencis 2012, p. 12.
- ^ Ķencis 2012, pp. 80–82.
- ^ Treija 2019, p. 25.
- ^ Treija 2019, pp. 25–26.
- ^ Treija 2019, pp. 18, 27.
- ^ a b Treija 2019, p. 29.
- ^ Treija 2018.
- ^ Treija 2011, pp. 157–158.
- ^ a b c d Treija 2011, p. 159.
- ^ Bula 2017, p. 42.
- ^ Treija 2011, p. 162.
- ^ Bula 2017, p. 54.
- ^ a b c d Treija 2019, pp. 27, 30.
Bibliography
- Bula, Dace (January 2017). "A Complete Edition of an Oral Tradition: Text Selection Practices in the History of Publishing Latvian Folk Songs". S2CID 164352279.
- Eversone, Madara; Raudive, Signe, eds. (2019). "Anna Bērzkalne". literatura.lv (in Latvian). Riga, Latvia: Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- Ķencis, Toms (2012). A Disciplinary History of Latvian Mythology (PhD). Tartu, Estonia: University of Tartu Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-9949-32-112-4.
- Oinas, Felix J. (1973). "Folklore and Politics in the Soviet Union". JSTOR 2494072.
- Treija, Rita (December 2019). "A Folklorist in the Soviet Spotlight". Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics. 13 (2). Tartu, Estonia: S2CID 209379128. Archived from the originalon 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- Treija, Rita (2011). "International Cooperation: Anna Bērzkalne" (PDF). Traditiones. 40 (3). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Inštitut za slovensko narodopisje ZRC, ISSN 1855-6396. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- Treija, Rita (5 December 2018). "Monograph on Anna Bērzkalne". Literatūras, folkloras un mākslas institūts. Riga, Latvia: Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- "Anna Bērzkalne: Īsa biogrāfija" [Anna Bērzkalne: Short Biography]. Latviešu folkloras krātuve (in Latvian). Riga, Latvia: Archive of Latvian Folklore. 2001. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Bērzkalnu ģimene "Čiglās"" [Bērzkalns family of the "Gypsies"]. Stars (in Latvian). Madona, Latvia. n.d. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
External links
- Literature by and about Anna Bērzkalne in the German National Library catalogue