Bernard Kangro

Bernard Kangro, 1937

Bernard Kangro (born September 18, 1910 in the village of Oe, today Antsla municipality , Võru County , Estonia ; † March 25, 1994 in Lund , Sweden ) was an Estonian writer and poet .

education

Bernard Kangro was born to the farmer Andres Kangro and his wife Minna. He grew up in rather simple circumstances. Bernard Kangro first attended elementary school in Kiltre from 1919 to 1922, then the school in Antsla (1922 to 1924) and finally from 1924 to 1929 the grammar school in Valga . From 1929 to 1938 he studied Estonian language and literature at the University of Tartu .

writer

In 1935, Bernard Kangro made his debut with the collection of poems Sonetid . Further volumes of poetry followed. From 1938 Kangro was a member of the artist group Arbujad (German roughly: shamans), who endeavored to experience the language more deeply, emotionally and spiritually. Kangro also worked as a journalist, among others for Eesti sõna (1942) and Puhkus ja elurõõm (1943). In 1943/44 he worked as a dramaturge at the Vanemuine Theater in Tartu . In 1941 he also worked as an assistant and from 1942 to 1944 as a lecturer in literature at the University of Tartu.

Before the Soviet occupation of Estonia, he had to flee into exile in Sweden in 1944. There Bernard Kangro became one of the most outstanding Estonian writers in exile and publicists. First he worked as an archivist in Karlstad , then from 1947 as a research assistant at Lund University . From 1950 until his death he was editor and publisher of the Estonian-language cultural magazine Tulimuld and from 1951 director of the (exile) Estonian writer publisher Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv AB .

There are numerous novels and volumes of poetry by Bernard Kangro. Central themes are rural life in southern Estonia and the city of Tartu. In his poetry he uses a creative, often symbolic language. The mood usually alternates between irony, joy but also resignation. The group arbujad devoted himself to the literary work arbujad (1981) and Arbujate kaasaeg (1983).

Works

Poetry collections

• "Sonetid" (1935)
• "Vanad majad" (1937)
• "Reheahi" (1939)
• "Põlenud puu" (1945)
• "Pühapäev" (1946)
• "Seitsmes öö" (1947)
• "Tulease" (1949)
• "Veebruar" (1951)
• "Eikellegi maa" (1952)
• "Suvihari" (1955)
• "September" (1964)
• "Varjumaa" (1966)
• "Allikad silla juures" (1972)
• "Hingetuisk. Jääminek" (1988)

Anthologies

• "Ajatu mälestus" (1960)
• "Minu nägu" (1970)
• "Kogutud luuletused" (1991)
• "Kojukutsuv hääl" (2000)

Novels

• "Igatsetud maa" (1949)
• "Kuma taevarannal" (1950)
• "Peipsi" (1954)
• "Taeva võtmed" (1956)
• "Sinine värav" (1957)
• "Jäälätted" (1957)
• "Emajõgi (1961)
• "Tartu (1962)
• "Kivisild (1963)
• "Must raamat (1965)
• "Keeristuli" (1969)
• "Joonatan, kadunud veli" (1971)
• "Öö astmes x" (1973)
• "Puu saarel on everything" (1973)
• "Kuus päeva" (1980)
• "Seitsmes päev" (1984)

Essays and memories

• "Arbujad" (1981)
• "Kipitai" (1992)
• "Härjanädalate aegu" (1994)
• "Üks sündmusteta suvi" (1998)

literature

• Kruus, Oskar: Bernard Kangro: Elukäik yes looming. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 2003