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- Title
„Kalevipoeg” Lõunaristi all: Gunnar Neeme ja Triinu Kartuse kirju.
- Authors
Laak, Marin
- Abstract
In 2011, the Estonian Literary Museum published the second translation into English of Fr. R. Kreutzwald's Kalevipoeg, which was first published in 1861. The manuscript of this second translation arrived in the Estonian Cultural History Archives from Australia. The story of the origin of this translation of the Estonian national epic as the life work of the Australian Estonian translator Triinu Kartus (1932-2003) and the artist Gunnar Neeme (1918-2005) is an extraordinary cultural act. The archaic poetic language of the epic, the figurative poetics of Estonian folk song, and the form of runic songs makes the translation extraordinarily difficult. Triinu Kartus translated the complete text of the epic (19 032 verses) into English again. The problems involved in translating the national epic and designing the book are reflected in the correspondence between Triinu Kartus and Gustav Neeme. The aim of the authors was to bring Estonian poetry to the world and to arouse interest in the heritage of their ancestors among the younger generations of their compatriots who had grown up abroad. Triinu Kartus grew up on a large farm in Northern Estonia, from where she emigrated to Germany in the autumn of 1944. She proceeded from displaced persons (DP) camps in Geislingen and Oldenburg to England, and from there onward to Australia. She established her new home in Lancauster in the province of Tasmania. Triinu Kartus has published poems in expatriate Estonian periodicals in the 1950's and 1960's and a collection of poems entitled varjude mäng (Shadow Play, Adelaide, 1993). She began translating the national epic at her own initiative in 1996. She worked on the manuscript for seven years. From the beginning, the translation was planned as a book with Estonian and English in parallel. The translation was done in close cooperation with the artist Gunnar Neeme in Melbourne. Neeme had studied at the Pallas Art School in Tartu. In exile he became an internationally known freelance Australian Estonian artist. Exhibitions of his works have been held in many countries and all the provinces of Australia. Gunnar Neeme was a member of the international PEN Club. He has published several collections of poetry and is known as a playwright. He had drawn pictures on the topic of Kalevipoeg since 1960. There were 200 such pictures in total. A selection of them has been published in the album Kalevipoeg, taidelises nägemuses (Kalevipoeg in Artistic Vision, AESL, 1984/95). The correspondence between Triinu Kartus and Gunnar Neeme also reflects life in Australian Estonian society. The Estonian diaspora in Australia is over 100 years old. More than 7000 Estonians arrived in Australia after the Second World War beginning in 1947 from DP camps in Germany and elsewhere. The Council of Estonian Societies in Australia (AESL) was established in 1952 to coordinate work associated with the Estonian nationality. The Estonian Archives in Australia were also founded and thanks to the dedication of its archivist Hugo Salasoo, it quickly became known throughout the world in regions with Estonian diaspora. Nowadays, 22 Estonian ethnic organisations belong to the AESL. About 11000 Estonians currently live in Australia, including the younger generations.
- Subjects
KALEVIPOEG (Poem); ENGLISH translations of literature; KREUTZWALD, Friedrich Reinhold, 1803-1882; ESTONIAN literature; EPIC literature; KARTUS, Triinu; NEEME, Gunnar
- Publication
Tuna, 2013, Issue 1, p109
- ISSN
1406-4030
- Publication type
Article