Andrejs Pumpurs: traditionalist, humanist, European
Kaspars Kļaviņš
The article looks at the life and activities of Andrejs Pumpurs ,the author of the Latvian national epic “Bearslayer” emphasizing his wider European and humanistic heritage rather than heritage based on Latvian traditions. Extensive study of the biography and works of A. Pumpurs reveal many paradoxes. For example, the creator of the national epic is also a fighter for the freedom of all nations, proving this by participating, as did Lord Byron, in the Balkan War. Although like many other young Latvians he had sympathies for Russian slavophiles A. Pumpurs also proves to be a true Baltic occidentophile with very good German speaking and writing skills. His command of Russian on the other hand was very poor even though he made a career for himself as an officer in the Russian Army. Being an admirer of the traditional Latvian folklore, A. Pumpurs could appreciate and was an attentive observer of other cultures clearly seeing similarities in the poetry between Balkan and Baltic people. As the creator of a strong national hero in the Latvian literature he also shows himself to be a dedicated democrat approving only a society governed by elected representatives who are responsible toward their electorate. While being a poet and a dreamer, he is also at the same time a considerate, economically alert individual. Coming from Latvia which at that time had an efficient, well organized agriculture he could clearly identify the problems and opportunities in agricultural regions of Europe that had not yet undergone modernization. A. Pumpurs is both a passionate patriot and a dedicated European who is among the first to promote the idea of European unity, dismissing both the “Eurosceptics” in Latvia and critics of “the Old Europe” in America. Though praising the Orient in his poetry, Pumpurs is at the same time rather Euro-centric in his theoretical writings, criticizing unjustified glorification of the Orient. Finally, while adoring the most interesting regional peculiarities of his own country, he also managed to visit China and India, becoming acquainted with cultures that were unknown to the average European.