Juhan Kunder

Juhan Kunder

Juhan Kunder (born December 14 ^{. Jul} / 26. December  1852 ^greg. In Holstre ; † April 12 ^jul. / 24. April  1888 ^greg. In Saint Petersburg ) was an Estonian writer .

Life

Juhan Kunder was born on a farm in southern Estonia and went to school in different places. He graduated from school in 1872 at the district school in Viljandi , where Friedrich Kuhlbars was his teacher. In the years 1872–1875 he studied at the German-speaking teachers' college in Tartu . He then worked as a teacher in Tartu for a year before going to Rakvere , where he was employed in the school service for the next ten years. After another exam, completed in 1882, he was officially a district school teacher.

Most of Kunder's literary works were created in Rakvere. He was also active as a journalist, for example from 1885 to 1886 as editor of the magazine Meelejahutaja ('The Scatterer'). In 1886 Kunder went to Kazan to study natural sciences , but a year later he switched to an educational institution in Saint Petersburg. Here he wanted to prepare for a higher education authority in Estonia. Soon after, however, he fell ill with typhoid and died at the age of less than 36.

Kunder was friends with Mihkel Veske and was active in many areas of the national emancipation movement. Among other things, he was a member of the Estonian Literary Society , of which he was vice-president in 1882, and of the so-called Alexander School Movement.

Literary work

Despite his short life, Juhan Kunder left his mark on many areas of the emancipating Estonian culture of the 19th century. His biographer Karl Laigna gave him six job titles: "Poet, playwright, literary historian, folklorist, pedagogue and political activist". Indeed, all of them are justified, although his most lasting impact was through his writings.

Kunder published two volumes of poetry during his lifetime (1873, 1876) and is entirely in the tradition and succession of Lydia Koidula . Some of his fatherland poems are still popular today, especially since they are set to music. The plays are central to his work, however, because he achieved something new and independent in this area. The early history of his texts is a bit confused, for example in 1873 a drama by him was said to have been discussed in the Estonian Literary Society , which then disappeared without a trace: Orust õnnemaale ('From the valley to the land of happiness').

From 1874 on, Kunder wrote texts that also made it onto the stage. At first it was a question of relatively simple pranks and village comedies with transparent love intrigues and the like. But the rich language and the special humor of the author gave the pieces a special touch and ensured success with the audience.

In 1887 a serious and almost combative drama appeared in which social problems were discussed. Mõrsja ja märatsejad ('The Bride and the Furious') is directed against the fraudulent practices of religious charlatans and pleads for more steadfastness. Kunder was the first to bring current social problems to the stage, which underlines its special importance in the development of an independent Estonian drama.

In the folklore field, Kunder took part in the recording of folk poetry and published a number of collections of fairy tales himself. In 1885 he published a prose version of Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's epic Kalevipoeg , which received positive reviews. After his death, someone even praised this work as the most beautiful thing that the deceased had penned.

Kunder also published a number of children's and school books and planned a comprehensive Estonian literary history, of which, however, only a small part could appear in advance (1885) in a magazine and the first part came out posthumously as a school book in 1890.

Reception in Germany

In German-speaking countries, Juhan Kunder became known almost exclusively for his fairy tales. Only one poem appeared in 1925 in an anthology of poetry published in Tartu. Most of his translations of fairy tales were also published in Estonia itself. Kunder is only represented in one book of fairy tales published in the GDR, but here he is the most frequent author with ten (out of 35) fairy tales, ahead of Kreutzwald. The book saw two new editions, so that it gained a certain distribution:

• The glass mountain. Estonian fairy tales. With 24 pictures painted by children. Selected and translated into German by Alexander Baer. Berlin: Publishing House Culture and Progress 1968. 188 p .; ²1970; ³1971.

Four books with fairy tales by Kunder have been published in Tallinn:

• The whimsical mirror. Translated by Gisela Teeäär. Tallinn: Perioodika 1986. 30 pp.
• Big Peter and Little Peter. German by Haide Roodvee. Tallinn: Perioodika 1986. 32 pp.
• (together with Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald in a book) Stories about the clever and courageous kiln attendant. German by Haide Roodvee. Tallinn: Perioodika 1987. 47 pp.
• (together with Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald in a book) The orphan girl and the farmer's daughter. German by Haide Roodvee. Tallinn: Perioodika 1989. 32 pp.

Kunder's fairy tales are also included in the following anthologies, also published in Tallinn:

• About the man who knew the snake words and other Estonian fairy tales. Compiled by Andres Jaaksoo. Illustrated by Vive Tolli. Translated from Estonian by Haide Roodvee. Tallinn: Perioodika 1982, passim (4 fairy tales).

• The flute player. Estonian fairy tales. Compiled by Jüri Talvet. Illustrated by Jaan Tammsaar. Translated by Gisela Teeäär and Haide Roodvee. Tallinn: P 1987, pp. 61-127 (11 fairy tales).

Selected bibliography of Kunder's works

• Õie-kuu ja külm elu maanteel. ('The happy moon and the cold life on the country road'.) Poems. Tartu: H. Laakmann 1873.
• Take care of laulu. ('Ten Songs.') Poems. Tartu: C. Mattiesen 1876.
• Mulgi mõistus ja Tartlase tarkus. ('The mind of the mulk [jokingly pejorative term for a resident of Southwest Estonia] and the wisdom of the Tartu.') Swank in one act. Tartu: Schnakenburg 1881.
• Muru Miku meelehaigus. ('Muru Mikk's mental illness.') Schwank in one act. Tartu: Schnakenburg 1882.
• Ema armastus Eesti rahvaluuletuses. ('Mother love in Estonian folk poetry.') Tallinn: H. Jannsen 1883.
• Laste raamat. ('Children's book.') Stories and poems. Rakvere: G. Kuhs 1884.
• Jumala kuju. ('God's image.') Narrative. Tartu: H. Laakmann 1885.
• Kroonu onu. ('The uncle of the crown.') Schwank in two acts. Tartu: H. Laakmann 1885.
• Kalevipoeg. Lugu Eesti muinaskangelasest. ('Kalevipoeg. Tale of a hero from Estonia's prehistoric times'.) Tartu: H. Laakmann 1885.
• Eesti muinasjutud. ('Estonian fairy tales.') Tartu: Eesti Kirjameeste Selts 1885.
• Mõrsja ja Märatsejad. ('The Bride and the Mad.') Play in three acts. Tartu: H. Laakmann 1887.
• J. Kunder Algupäralised luuletused. ('JK's original poems.') Tartu: KA Hermann 1889.
• Eesti kirjandus, koolile ja kodule. 1st raamat: Eesti vanemad laulikud. ('Estonian literature, for school and home. Book 1: Estonia's older poets.') Viljandi: F. Feldt 1890.
• Kingu Laos. ('Kingu Laos.') Drama in two acts. Viljandi: F. Feldt 1890.

Secondary literature

• Jaan Jõgever : Johann Kunder. In: Eesti Kirjandus 1906, pp. 214–221 [catalog raisonné], pp. 225–243, 257–272, 289–300; Continued in Eesti Kirjandus 1907, pp. 5–11, 17–24, 33–41, 49–55, 65–72, 81–94, 105–118.
• Villem Alttoa: Lisandeid Juhan Kunderi loominguloole. In: Keel ja Kirjandus 3/1959, pp. 140–146.
• Karl Laigna: Juhan Kunder. Mitmekülgne culture gelane. Tallinn: Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus 1959.
• Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter 2006, pp. 312-315.
• Pill-Riin Larm: Ärkamisaeg, Noor-Eesti yes miski nende vahel. Eesti kirjandusloo küsimusi Juhan Kunderi Näitel. In: Methis 12 (2013), pp. 34-55. http://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/methis/article/view/1091

Web links

• Juhan Kunder in the Estonian personal database ISIK (Estonian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Karl Laigna: Juhan Kunder. Mitmekülgne culture gelane. Tallinn: Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus 1959, p. 5.
2. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter 2006, p. 313.
3. ↑ http://dea.nlib.ee/fullview.php?frameset=3&showset=1&wholepage=keskmine&pid=s288860&nid=4431
4. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter 2006, p. 34.
5. ↑ See: Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian literature in German translation. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011, pp. 284–288.
6. ↑ "Auf Eestis Berge." In: Estonian poems. Translated by Wilhelm Nerling. Dorpat: Laakmann 1925, pp. 43–44.