One of the most talented Latvian writers of the 20th century, he died early of tuberculosis.
He graduated from Riga Primary School and Riga 1st High School. Studied at the University of Latvia. He worked for the Green Crow Society, and later devoted himself exclusively to literary work. During the Second World War he worked in a bookshop and in forest preparation. The deprivations of the war years affected his health. He was buried in Riga's Rainis Cemetery.
He published his first comedy in 1924, signing many of his works under the pseudonym Ēriks Rīga. His poetry collections include Silver in the Fire (Sudrabs ugunī, 1932), Coats of Arms (Ģerboņi, 1937), Sundial (Saules pulkstenis, 1941), and Pipe of Dreams (Sapņu pīpe), published in Stockholm after his death in 1951.
The novel "Ieškantis savo kelio" (Sava ceļa gājējs, 1943-1944) depicts the spiritual maturation of a young man. He also wrote plays, short stories and fairy tales. With a knowledge of Russian, German, English and French, he has translated the works of Charles Baudelaire, Byron, Henrik Ibsen, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Tennyson and other foreign authors.
