Ēriks Hānbergs

Ēriks Hānbergs, born in 1933, is a Latvian prose writer and columnist. Since 1957, he has been writing for the regional and national press. Hānbergs studied, and later worked, at the Liepaja Pedagogical Institute. He has also worked for many newspapers as editor, director, and journalist. Hānbergs' first literary publication was the long story Pirmā grēka līcis/The Creek of the First Sin in the Karogs literary magazine, 1976 No. 11.-12., published in a book in 1977. His first collection of stories Taka rudzu laukā/A Footpath in Rye was published in 1981. The main subject in Hānberg's prose is the depiction of country life as a source of a balanced value system. His fiction often has documentary elements with emphasis on life-like dialogue, humour, and vigorous conflict. Director Kārlis Auškāps has adapted Hānbergs stories in two plays – The Creek of the First Sin (2012) and Plikie un pusplikie/The Bare- and the Barely- naked (2014). Hānbergs is a member of the Latvian Writers' Union since 1978. In 2004, together with his friend Jānis Ķuzulis, he founded the Cheerful Club (Omulības klubiņš), intended to inspire and cultivate optimistic attitudes in society through storytelling and humorous writing.