Marie Under: Why Didn’t She Receive a Nobel Prize?

Sirje Kiin, PhD KLENK 2011 St. PPtetersb urg, Flor ida Marie Under 1883‐1980 Education in German Writer Eduard Vilde First marriage with Carl Hacker Five years in 1901‐1906 Artist Ants Laikmaa Lover 1915 Writer 1917 Love‐triangle and love‐Sonnets

Artur Adson

Carl Hacker

Friedebert Tuglas First fame and shame Parodies Literary group Siuru 1917‐1921

Gailit, Visnapuu, Semper, Adson, Under, Tuglas Masterful ballads European tours 1920s Happy 1930s Three occupations 1940‐1945 Escape to 1944 “With Sorrowful Mouth” (1942) Refugee‐camps in Sweden

• 10 month of suffering • 6 camps • Gränna • Sigtuna Under and Adson in exile home Forbidden name in Soviet

• Bourgeois nationalist • Enemy of the nation • “Escaped Germa ns ’whooere” • Burning books • Punished readers • Political parodies and humiliations • Invitations to return • Lost lamb? • From totally forbidden to partially forbidden Powerful impact three times

• Sonnet` s sensual power and liberation after WWI • Ballads as a sign of high level Estonian culture 1920s and 1930s • Tragic exile poetry affirmed nation`s faith and courage during and after WWII International fame in Frankfurt 1958 Poems Translated into 26 languages, Books into 13 languages

Esperanto 1929, 1988 Russian 1935, 1937, 2003, 2007 Finnish 1978, 1983 German 1949 Czech 2003 English 1955 Norwegian 2004 Swedish 1963, 1970, 1988, 2007 Udmurdi 2006 French 1970 Mari 2006 Italian 1971 Komi 2008 Under as a candidate for the Noblbel Prize for Literature 1945‐1974 nominated as a candidate 30 times Who nominated: • Professor Ants Oras, Flidlorida, USA (20 ti)imes) • Estonian PEN club (several times) • Finnish PEN club (3 times) • Finnish Writers Union • Professor W.K.Matthews, London Why not? 1. Small and difficult language 2. Un‐translatable essence of her poetry – complexity of her style and poetic langgguage 3. Questionable quality of translations (foreign or scientists, not poets in the target language) Why not (cont. )? 4. More novelists than poets receive awards 5. Changes in European literature after World War II 6. Political reasons (Cold War, “neutrality” of Sweden) International recongition

• 1935 Lexicon The Who’s Who in Central and East Europe (Zürich) • 1937 honorary member of International PEN Club • 1963 honorary member of Finnish Writers Union • 1964 honorary member of Bavarian Academy of Arts • 1967 award of honor of United Poets Laureate International (Philippines) • 1971 Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (New York) • 1971 International “Who’s Who, 1971‐72” • 1971 “Who’s Who in Poetry” 1970‐1971 Marie Under, Friedebert Tuglas Jaan Kross 1927‐2007 Jaan Kaplinski born 1941 Becoming a Saint