Ilmar Külvet

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Ilmar Külvet (formerly Kiilberg , born November 21, 1920 in Keila ; † April 27, 2002 in Toronto ) was an Estonian journalist and playwright .

Life

Külvet graduated from Gustav Adolf Gymnasium in Tallinn in 1938 and then worked as a journalist in the Estonian capital. In 1944 he left Estonia and lived for ten years as a refugee in Germany and from 1947 in England before he could emigrate to Canada . From 1954 he was editor of the newspaper "Vaba Eestlane" ('Free Este') in Toronto. From 1972 to 1992 he was a member of the editorial board of the Estonian-language broadcasts of the Voice of America in Washington, DC

Literary work

In addition to his journalistic work, Külvet began writing dramas in the 1960s, which were soon performed very successfully in all theaters of the exile community (in Toronto, Stockholm , Adelaide and elsewhere). Some of them were printed in the Estonian magazine Mana and later in the drama book collection (1982), which contains five of his six plays; only the satire "The Trojan Horse", performed in Toronto in 1965 with songs and dances, is missing here at the author's request. Overall, his pieces are characterized by a certain unconventionality and unusual polemics.

Külvet sparked a real scandal in exile circles with his play "Bridge over the Sea", which premiered in Stockholm in 1970 . Conservative exile circles dismissed it as “socialist realism” because the exile community was portrayed in an unfavorable light and dealing with the occupied homeland was advocated. The latter was frowned upon in parts of the exile community. In fact, the piece advocates a dialogue, at the same time it is in dialogue with a classic of dramatic literature, Henrik Ibsen's Puppenheim , since one of the main characters is learning the role of Nora. The image of bridge building is used here not only for exile and home, but also for the present and the past. Külvet had been interested in Ibsen and Norwegian literature since he was a child. Within Estonian literature, his dramatic work has been compared with that of the classics Hugo Raudsepp and Anton Hansen Tammsaare as well as that of his contemporaries Paul-Eerik Rummo , Mati Unt and Enn Vetemaa .

Külvet later turned to prose and published novels and short stories. His work as a translator from English into Estonian was also important (e.g. novels by John Steinbeck and Archibald Joseph Cronin )

Külvet is probably best known as a radio announcer for the “Voice of America”, making him a bridge builder whose voice “every Estonian has heard, even through the noise of the jammers”.

Awards

bibliography

  • Kuhu kuulud, Kristjan? ja teisi jutustusi ('Where do you belong, Kristjan? and other stories'). Stockholm: Välis-Eesti & EMP 1982. 223 pp.
  • Näitemänguraamat ('drama book'). Toronto: Külvet 1982. 158 pp.
  • Jääkaru hingus ja teisi jutustusi ('The polar bear's breath and other stories'). Stockholm: Välis-Eesti & EMP 1986. 212 pp.
  • Suupill ja 500 tuubat ('harmonica and 500 tubas'). Lund: EKK 1987. 226 pp.
  • Kes oskab lugeda hieroglüfe? ('Who can read hieroglyphics?') Romaan. Lund: EKK 1989. 196 pp.
  • Gulliveri käekõrval ('To Gulliver's Hand'). Tallinn: Kupar 1996. 318 pp.

Literature on the author

  • Intervjuu Ilmar Külvetiga, in: Vikerkaar 10/1988, pp. 76-79.
  • Piret Kruuspere: Pagulasmaastike kaardistaja. Ilmar Külvet 70, in: Looming 11/1990, pp. 1578-1579.
  • Luule Epner: Ilmar Külvetinaidendite poeetikast, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 11/1990, pp. 673–679.
  • Intervjuu Ilmar Külvetiga, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 11/1990, pp. 680–684.
  • Mardi Valgemäe: Otsekui parm piriseb, in: Tulimuld 1/1991, pp. 17-24.
  • "Kirjaniku ülesandeks on kirjutada". Ilmar Külvet 75, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 11/1995, pp. 785–786.
  • Piret Kruuspere: Maailma mõrkjal Näitelaval, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 6/2002, pp. 449-450.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Piret Kruuspere: Pagulasmaastike kaardistaja. Ilmar Külvet 70, in: Looming 11/1990, p. 1578.
  2. ↑ Eesti kirjanike leksikon. Koostanud Oskar Kruus yes Heino Puhvel. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 2000, pp. 260-261.
  3. ↑ Eesti kirjandus paguluses. XX sajandil. Toimetanud Piret Kruuspere. [Tallinn:] Eesti TA Underi ja Tuglase Kirjanduskeskus 2008, p. 344.
  4. ↑ Luule Epner: Ilmar Külvetinaidendite poeetikast, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 11/1990, p. 673.
  5. ↑ Eesti kirjandus paguluses. XX sajandil. Toimetanud Piret Kruuspere. [Tallinn:] Eesti TA Underi ja Tuglase Kirjanduskeskus 2008, pp. 343-349.
  6. ↑ The play gave its name to an English-language selection of dramas and is also included in an English translation: Bridge across the sea. Seven Baltic plays . Edited [and preface] by Alfred Straumanis. Introduction by Janis Penikis. Prospect Heights (Ill.): Waveland Press 1983.
  7. ↑ Piret Kruuspere: Maailma mõrkjal Näitelaval, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 6/2002, p. 449.
  8. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, pp. 616–617.
  9. ↑ Luule Epner: Ilmar Külvetinaidendite poeetikast, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 11/1990, p. 679.
  10. ↑ Eesti kirjanike leksikon. Koostanud Oskar Kruus yes Heino Puhvel. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 2000, p. 260.
  11. ↑ Eesti kirjandus paguluses. XX sajandil. Toimetanud Piret Kruuspere. [Tallinn:] Eesti TA Underi ja Tuglase Kirjanduskeskus 2008, p. 349.
  12. ↑ Luule Epner: Ilmar Külvetinaidendite poeetikast, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 11/1990, p. 679.
  13. ↑ So expressed in his Nekrolog in Looming 5/2002, p. 798.
personal data
SURNAME Külvet, Ilmar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kiilberg, Ilmar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Estonian journalist and playwright
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Keila
DATE OF DEATH April 27, 2002
Place of death Toronto