[1] Jānis Poruks was born in Druviena parish, in the Kreis Walk of the Governorate of Livonia in a peasant family.

While in Dresden he published his first book, a collection of essays in german language Religion der Zukunft.

In Latvia, he started chemistry studies in Riga Polytechnical Institute but later he shifted to commerce.

During this period he wrote most of his most famous works and often signed them with pseudonyms Nemo'or Parsifal.

The first publication of Poruks was a short story Purvaiņos which was published in a newspaper Dienas Lapa in 1888.