Ellen Niit

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Inauguration of a bust in honor of Ellen Niits in Kiskőrös, Hungary (2009)

Ellen Niit (born Ellen Hiob , from 1949 to 1958 Ellen Niit , officially Ellen Kross from 1958 ; born July 13, 1928 in Tallinn ; † May 30, 2016 ibid) was an Estonian writer and translator .

Life

Career

Niit attended a school in Tapa from 1938 to 1943 and then the 4th comprehensive school in Tallinn. Her subsequent studies at the State University of Tartu she completed in 1952 in the field of Estonian language and literature . During her traineeship , Niit dealt with the research field of Estonian children's literature .

From 1956 to 1961 she worked as a poetry consultant for the Writers' Union of the Estonian SSR and from 1961 to 1963 as Associate Editor at the Estonian TV broadcaster ETV .

Ellen Niit had been a freelance writer since 1963. She has also translated works from Hungarian ( Sándor Petőfi ), Russian ( Sergei Alexandrowitsch Jessenin , Kornei Tschukowski ) and other languages.

family

From 1949 to 1958 she was married to the Estonian literary scholar Heldur Niit (1928-2010), then from 1958 until his death with the Estonian writer Jaan Kross (1920-2007). She had four children: Toomas Niit (* 1953), Maarja Undusk (* 1959), Eerik-Niiles Kross (* 1967) and Märten Kross (* 1970).

Works

In addition to smaller projects, Ellen Niit's works include seven volumes of poetry , three volumes of selected poems as well as nine volumes of verse and six children's books written in prose . The children's book Pille-Riini lood , which also served as the material for a song by the punk band Vennaskond , achieved greatest fame .

Poetry volumes:

  • Maa on tais sorrow crap (1960)
  • Linnuvoolija (1970)
  • Karud saavad aru (1972)
  • Grandma olemine, turteltulemine (1979)
  • Krõlliraamat (1979)
  • Tere, tere lambatall! (1993)
  • Veel ja veel Krõlliga maal ja veel (2002)

Volumes of selected poems:

  • Midrimaa (1974)
  • Suur suislepapuu (1983)
  • Ühel viivul vikervalgel (1999)

Versions:

  • Kuidas leiti Nääripuu (1954)
  • Rongisõit (1957)
  • Karud saavad aru (1967)
  • Lahtiste uste päev (1970)
  • Suur maalritöö (1971)
  • Kuidas Krõll tahtis põrandat pesta (1993)
  • Krõlli värviraamat (1994)
  • Krõll ja igasugused hääled (1994)
  • Krõlli pannkoogitegu (1999)

Prose:

  • Pille-Riini lood (1963) - in German translation under the title Das ist Pille-Riin
  • Jutt jänesepojast, kes ei tahtnud magama jääda (1967) - in German translation under the title Vom Häschen, which did not want to fall asleep
  • Triinu ja Taavi jutud (1970) - in German translation under the title New and old stories about Triinu and Taavi
  • Triinu ja Taavi uued ja vanad lood (1977)
  • Jänesepojaõhtu koos isaga (1982)
  • Onu Ööbiku ööpäev (1998)

Works in German

Children's books

  • This is Pill Riin . Translation from Estonian by Ellen Niit. Edited by Gerhard Holtz-Baumert. Illustrations by Gertrud Zucker. Berlin: The children's book publisher [1971]. 125 pp.

This book was actually translated by Salme Raatma-Rosenstein , who was not allowed to be named as an exile-Estonian author in the GDR. Therefore, the author herself is misleadingly stated as the translator.

  • About the bunny who didn't want to fall asleep . Translated from Estonian by Helga Viira. Tallinn: Perioodika 1973. 16 pp.
  • New and old stories about Triinu and Taavi . Drawn by Edgar Valter . Translated from Estonian by Helga Viira. Tallinn: Perioodika 1973. 49 pp.
  • The story of the painter . Adaptation by Andreas Reimann. Illustrations by Regine Röder. Berlin: The children's book publisher 1980. 45 pp.

Poems in anthologies and magazines

After some rehearsals in the magazine Soviet literature, some poetry samples were published for the first time in Germany in the anthology for the authors' conference with Jaan Kross .

Akzente magazine published a first, somewhat larger selection in its number 1/1998, pp. 58–66: I knew two large stones - I'm thinking of the chicken egg - Stopover at Orly airport - Evening - Houses become home - An ancient city - Everything is so brittle. The translations are by Gisbert Jänicke . From this the poem I think of the chicken egg found its way into the columns of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit , namely in the edition of March 5, 1998 (p. 42).

Gisbert Jänicke published a selection twice in Estonia magazine :

  • 2/1998, p. 16–27: The family book - Time flies - From black and red fairy tale truth - The clearing - The forest walks slowly - My son becomes a psychologist - A bird in his hand.
  • 2007, pp. 145–165: The song of the awakening word - The song of the smooth road - The song of the fresh wind - The song of the bold - The song of the road to be built - The song of the great discovery - The song of good.

Further samples were found in the magazines Baltica and Lichtungen .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Suri Ellen Niit In: Postimees of May 30, 2016.
  2. ↑ Eesti Elulood. Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti Entsüklopeedia 14) ISBN 9985-70-064-3 , p. 324.
  3. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011, p. 202; see. also: Ave Tarrend: About the reception of Estonian children's and youth literature in Germany, in: German Studies in Tallinn . Texts, theses and projects on the German language and literature. Issue 2. Eds. Dirk Müller and Helju Ridali. Tallinn: TPÜ Kirjastus 2002, pp. 128–155.
  4. Jump up ↑ on Cape surnumäe. Translated by J. Warkentin, in Soviet literature 8/1972, pp. 133-134; Let me be a bird ... - I knew two big stones. Translated by Viktor Sepp, in Soviet literature 1/1989, pp. 107-108.
  5. ↑ Heimat - Vivat Estonia - To the friends - From the black and red fairy tale truth .... Interlinear translations by Cornelius Hasselblatt, in: Der Verrückte des Zaren. Jaan Kross in Loccum. Edited by Olaf Schwencke . Loccum: Evangelical Academy 1990, pp. 191, 208, 217, 222.
  6. ↑ New World - Everything is so fragile ... - Bird in hand. Translated by Mati Sirkel , in: Baltica 4/1991, pp. 44-48; If I had known you earlier - Kalksteinlied, without specifying the translator, in Baltica 1/2006, pp. 32–35, 40–43.
  7. ↑ The Suns - The Grandfather. Translated by Irja Grönholm , in: Lichtungen 2003, pp. 50–51.
personal data
SURNAME Niit, Ellen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kross, Ellen; Job, Ellen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Estonian writer and translator
DATE OF BIRTH July 13, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Tallinn
DATE OF DEATH May 30, 2016
Place of death Tallinn