Aino Kallas

Aino Kallas

Aino Kallas (born August 2, 1878 on the Kiiskilä farm near Vyborg ; † November 9, 1956 in Helsinki ) was a Finnish - Estonian writer and poet .

Early years

Aino Kallas (née Krohn) was born as the daughter of the Finnish literary scholar Julius Krohn into a polyglot, primarily German- speaking family. Her father published his own poetry under the pseudonym Suonio . As a child she wrote poems and novels herself . In 1900 she married the Estonian folklorist and later diplomat Oskar Kallas (1868–1946). The couple lived in Saint Petersburg from 1900 to 1903 . In 1904 they both moved to Tartu , where they lived until 1918. The couple had five children together, Virve, Laine, Sulev, Lembit and Hillar. The last two died as young children.

Writer

In Tartu, Aino Kallas was involved in the Estonian literary group Noor-Eesti (“Young Estonia), which also campaigned for Estonia's independence from the Russian Empire . Estonian issues play a major role in her literary work, where they met Western High intellectuals such as John Galsworthy . Her breakthrough came with “the collection of novellas Meren takaa (1904/05), in which, as in her novella Ants Raudjalg, the social conditions in Estonia are realistically portrayed. The collection of novellas Lähvien laivojen kaupunki is particularly committed to symbolism . It marks Kallas' turn to universalistic and mythical subjects.

Aino Kallas had a love affair with the Finnish writer Eino Leino (1878-1926) from 1916 to 1919 . The successful works Seitsemän fall during this period : Titanic-novelleja and Katinka Rabe , which are influenced by both symbolism and impressionism .

London

In the 1920s, Aino Kallas moved with her husband to London , where he was the Estonian envoy from 1922 to 1934 . The city remained the center of her life for eighteen years. She used summer stays on the island of Hiiumaa for her literary work. The works of Barbara von Tisenhusen , Reigin pappi and Sudenmorsian were also created there .

In later years Aino Kallas also wrote plays. The best known are Mare ja hänen poikansa and Bathsheba Saarenmaalla . Some works were reworked into operas , especially by the composers Eduard Tubin and Tauno Pylkkänen .

exile

With the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Aino and Oskar Kallas had to flee into exile in Stockholm . Her husband died there in 1946. Aino Kallas lived in Sweden from 1944 to 1953 before moving to her native Finland.

Most important works

• Lauluja ja balladeja, 1887
• Kuloa ja kevättä, 1899
• Kirsti, 1902
• Meren takaa, Volume 1, 1904
• Meren takaa, Volume 2, 1905
• Ants Raudjalg, 1907
• Lähvien laivojen kaupunki, 1913
• Seitsemän: Titanic-novelleja, 1914
• Suljettu puutarha, 1915
• Musta raita, 1919
• Katinka rabe, 1920
• Barbara von Tisenhusen, 1923
• Reigin pappi, 1926 (German: The parish priest of Roicks , 1929)
• Sudenmorsian, 1928 novelleja, 1928
• Pyhän joen kosto, 1930
• Bathsheba Saarenmaalla, 1932
• Mare ja hänen poikansa, 1935
• Talonpojan kunnia, 1936
• Kuoleman joutsen 1942
• Kuun silta, 1943
• Löytöretkillä Lontoossa, 1944
• Polttoroviolla, 1945
• Kanssavaeltajia ja ohikulkijoita, 3 volumes, 1945–47
• Seitsemän neitsyttä, 1948
• Virvatulia, 1949
• Rakkauden vangit, 1951
• Päiväkirja vuosilta 1897–1906, 1952 (diaries)
• Päiväkirja vuosilta 1907–1915, 1953 (diaries)
• Päiväkirja vuosilta 1916–1921, 1954 (diaries)
• Päiväkirja vuosilta 1922–26, 1955 (diaries)
• Päiväkirja vuosilta 1927–31, 1956 (diaries)
• Vaeltava päiväkirja vuosilta 1946–1956, 1957 (diaries)
• Elämäni päiväkirjat, 2 volumes, 1978 (diaries)

further reading

• Kai Laitinen: Aino Kallas 1897–1921. Helsinki 1995

Web links

• Literature by and about Aino Kallas in the catalog of the German National Library
• Biography ( Memento from December 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
• The marriage of Oskar and Aino Kallas (Estonian Literary Magazine, English)