*tuule makett - Infopoint Estonian Culture

2 5 / These Songs and Stories
of Estonian poetry with his translations and essays. Those
writers who started by writing with sincere nature poetry and
love poems were like a breath of fresh air, after the mechanical
descriptions of the heroism of young Communists and eulogies
to “dear father Stalin”.
This generation was inescapably marked by being separated
from much of the rest of the world by the Iron Curtain. And
in other Soviet republics, cultural life was even more severely
repressed. Major world events passed by without Estonians
being able to participate. Writers thus relied on the pre-war
heritage, developing this with only slight variations.
During this same period, those Estonian authors who had
fled into exile abroad led a dynamic literary life, but even this
could not help but treading a predetermined path. Most exile
poets continued to write, and their works were often spurred
on by homesickness. The poetry of Suits, Under and Visnapuu
became even more monumental. Of the younger generation,
Ilmar Laaban (1921–2000) was unusual in adopting a surrealist
style. Quite predictably, the exiles’ favourite poet was
Kalju Lepik (1920–1999) who focussed on the patriotic sentiment.
The general mood was nostalgic, hopeful and contemplative,
with few exceptions. Translation work and plentiful
reading would bear fruit later. And the vast resources of world
literature were inspiration for Ivar Ivask (1927–1992), Urve
Karuks (born 1936) and several others.
In Estonia itself during the somewhat more liberal 1960s,
what are termed “poetry cassettes” began to appear — collections
of small chapbooks by several authors in one small cardboard
box. The worldwide optimism of that decade also affected
Estonia, and this was most clearly manifested in the field of
poetry. The most innovative poets of this period — Artur
Alliksaar, Jaan Kaplinski and Paul-Eerik Rummo — will be
discussed below. Quite an amount of good poetry was published
during this period. The reading public hungered for
poems and even arranged spontaneous poetry readings. The
enthusiasm of the younger poets even infected older ones.
One of the more notable names amongst those starting
during that time is Hando Runnel (born1938) who has always
been an independent voice, embracing the Estonian countryside
and conservative values. His work has its roots in rhymed
folk song, and is sensitive to social issues, but also playful and
humorous. Viivi Luik (born 1946) was the youngest poet to
make her début during the 1960s and started out very young