Estonian Literary Magazine Spring 2020 Nº50 elm.estinst.ee MORE INFORMATION: ESTONIAN INSTITUTE Eesti Instituut Suur-Karja 14, 10140 Tallinn, Estonia Phone: +372 631 4355 www.estinst.ee ESTONIAN LITERATURE CENTRE Eesti Kirjanduse Teabekeskus Sulevimägi 2-5 10123 Tallinn, Estonia www.estlit.ee ESTonian Writers’ UNION Eesti Kirjanike Liit Harju 1, 10146 Tallinn, Estonia Phone: +372 6 276 410, +372 6 276 411 [email protected] www.ekl.ee The current issue of ELM was supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia. © 2020 by the Estonian Institute. ISSN 1406-0345 Editor: Berit Kaschan · Translators: Adam Cullen, Darcy Hurford · Language editor: Robyn Laider Layout: Piia Ruber Editorial Board: Tiit Aleksejev, Adam Cullen, Peeter Helme, Helena Koch, Ilvi Liive, Helena Läks, Piret Viires On the Cover: Jaan Kross in 1938. Photo: Family archive Estonian Literary Magazine is included in the EBSCO Literary Reference Center. Contents 2 A path a quarter-century long by Krista Kaer 6 Humans, not eras, are either boring or compelling. An interview with David Vseviov by Toomas Kall 14 Autobiography: The First Two Weeks by David Vseviov 18 9+8. A conversation between Silvia Urgas and KMS 25 Poetry by Silvia Urgas and KMS 28 You only need one round to shoot an elk. An interview with Piret Jaaks by Heidi Aadma 34 Between Kross’s roundpole fences. An interview with the translators Frans van Nes and Jesse Neimeijer by Johanna Ross 41 Jaan Kross – The Estonian ambassador by Cornelius Hasselblatt 46 Memories of Jaan Kross: Mati Sirkel, Maima Grīnberga and Tiina Ann Kirss 50 Confronting silence with literature. An interview with Kätlin Kaldmaa by Igor Kotjuh 56 Andrus Kivirähk – the favourite author of young demanding readers by Jaanika Palm 59 Oscar and the Things by Andrus Kivirähk 62 Book reviews by Marek Tamm, Elisa-Johanna Liiv, Mari Niitra, Maarja Helena Meriste, Siim Lill, Pille-Riin Larm, Mihkel Kunnus, Helena Koch, and Taavi Hallimäe 78 Selected translations A path a quarter-century long by Krista Kaer A very long time ago, so long now that it authors there might presently be writing came as a great surprise even to myself, books that struck to the heart of that turbu- Piret Viires and I were the original edi- lent zeitgeist! Simultaneously, Estonia’s ties tors of Estonian Literary Magazine. The to Scandinavian countries and their respec- first issue was published by the Estonian tive literary organizations were strengthen- Institute in autumn 1995 and arose out of ing; countries that had already developed a crucial need – to introduce Estonian lit- a flawless mechanism for disseminating erature to the world. Even then, Estonian Nordic literature abroad. Christopher writing wasn’t entirely unknown outside MacLehose, who had dedicated himself to of the country, which was evident from the quite thankless task of publishing trans- the list of titles translated into foreign lated literature in English, also turned his languages that we printed at the end of attention to Estonia, releasing translations the issue. Most were released in the 1980s of Kross’s works and wondering whether he and 1990s, and their publishing relied on might also discover other gems in the coun- chance, the enthusiasm of the translators, try. Estonians, in turn, were thrilled to dis- or the Estonian authors’ own initiatives. It cern this heightened interest, as we felt we was primarily the works of Jaan Kross and had so much to share with the world – our Jaan Kaplinski that had been published in whole range of literary classics; fantastic English translation, the former likely being new works; and poetry, in which our nation the most widely translated Estonian author takes such pride. The gates to the world had at the time. Then, new Estonian publishing swung open and we endeavored to import, houses formed in the 1990s. The publishers convey, and translate as much as we possi- started attending international book fairs, bly could. At the same time, there was the where they were frequently questioned aspiration to exhibit our own cherished about literature from the country. Foreign cultural traits. How could all this be accom- publishers sensed new opportunities – plished? We needed English-language copy, yet-undiscovered masterpieces could be literary overviews, author biographies, and hiding somewhere in the Baltic states, or translated excerpts. We needed high-quality 2 ESTONIAN LITERARY MAGAZINE · SPRING 2020 TICS L A B CANPIX S EV / Ä REIMANN ÄRIP T · PHOTO BY LIIS BY · PHOTO KRISTA KAER KRISTA translators who spoke English as a native possible. At first, we had only Eric Dickens, language, but could also grasp the intrica- a few members of the Estonian diaspora, cies of Estonian. Such a magazine had to be and some Estonians who had lived in published in English if we wished to make English-speaking areas for long periods ourselves accessible to as many readers as of time. The Estonian Literature Center 3 didn’t exist yet, being founded only in 2001. our primary translator for the first issue, Foreign inquiries were made either to the though Jonathan Roper translated Kauksi Estonian Writers’ Union or the Estonian Ülle’s ethno-futurist poetry and I did many Institute, as the promotion of Estonian cul- of the translations myself. This shows how ture abroad had come to be one of the lat- difficult it was for us to find qualified indi- ter’s central tasks. Thus, Estonian Literary viduals – I certainly would no longer dare Magazine came into being in collaboration to take on such a role, and nor should I. The between the Estonian Writers’ Union and situation began to improve over time, but the Estonian Institute. The workload was in the early days it helped to have a local enormous, as we had to start from scratch. editor read through the translations – even In any case, this beginning was marked by a fluent translator could get stuck grasping Eric Dickens’s translations of Kristjan-Jaak some of the finer details of Estonian life and Peterson’s poems ‘The Moon’ and ‘The the result was not always what was origi- Bard’. Mati Sirkel, who was then chairman nally intended. This concerned the English of the Estonian Writers’ Union, wrote an translations of Estonian literature, of overview of the history of Estonian litera- course – translations into other languages ture and its status in the 1990s, which is still accumulated over time as enthusiasts of relevant today. It should be supplemented Estonian language and literature soon with the developments that have taken found opportunities to visit the country and place over the last 25 years, of course, but familiarize with its books and authors. the piece remains a fine introduction to the field of Estonian literature. Whereas the first issue ofEstonian Literary Magazine aimed to define the overall nature In his brief foreword to the new publica- of the genre, the following issues narrowed tion, Sirkel wrote that literature is one way in focus, providing an overview of books to be in connection with eternity, adding published in the 1990s as well as reviews that unlike visual art and music, the field of individual titles. Nevertheless, the list requires mediators – translators – to add of Estonian works published in translation its colors to world literature. I wrote a that we included at the end of each issue piece about translated literature as a part remained largely static for a long time. The of Estonian literature as a whole, and can cause was elementary: the pool of transla- now say that the trends I noticed at the tors was gradually increasing, Estonia and time – the proliferation of literature trans- the Estonian language are unusual enough lated into Estonian and declining print runs to arouse broader interest, and Estonia in of high-quality literature – have not gone the 1990s enchanted foreigners with its away, but rather have compounded. The exoticism. It was much harder, however, opportunities and support for the transla- to find foreign publishers willing to put tion of quality literature are issues that have out Estonian literature in translation. Pure not diminished in importance today. enthusiasm was no longer enough when financial interests came into play. Rumor Naturally, one crucial task was to find had it that some foreign publishing houses people who could translate Estonian litera- abandoned Estonian literature after run- ture into other languages. Eric Dickens was ning into severe losses with the release of 4 ESTONIAN LITERARY MAGAZINE · SPRING 2020 just a couple of titles. Estonian Literary magazine’s 50th issue and the difference is Magazine was flourishing, but it was also striking when you compare the latest to the clear that more was needed to introduce the very first. The Estonian Literary Magazine world to Estonian literature. We needed to has grown and is now truly worthy of its go further. title. The translations are professional, and the literary excerpts and reviewed titles are This step forward meant establishing the selected by its editorial board. It has been Estonian Literature Center in 2001 and years since every Estonian work that has beginning to systematically export Estonian been translated into a foreign language literature. I was witness to it from the very could fit on the last pages of the issue, and start and know how much time and effort even only a selection of those that have been this truly took. The world is full of books, published in the last year are printed today. more and more are published every day, and I wish Estonian Literary Magazine many it’s extremely difficult for a small nation’s more years to come with the firm belief literature to become globally visible and that its editors will not encounter a lack of read.