Kersti Merilaas

Kersti Merilaas (born November 24, ^jul. / 7. December  1913 ^greg. In Narva , † 8. March 1986 in Tallinn ) was an Estonian poet and translator . She also wrote poetry and prose for children as well as plays.

life and work

Kersti Merilaas was born as Eugenia Moorberg shortly before the outbreak of the First World War . She spent her childhood in Saint Petersburg . In 1917 her mother Anna Moorberg returned to Estonia with her two children because of the turmoil of the revolution in Russia . From 1921 to 1927 she attended school in Kiltsi , then in Väike-Maarja and in Rakvere . In 1932 she finished high school in Tapa . After school, she made her way through various jobs across Estonia.

Kersti Merilaas married the Estonian writer and translator August Sang (1914–1969) in 1936 . Their son is the poet Joel Sang (* 1950).

From 1936 Kersti Merilaas lived in Tartu , where she worked as a librarian. In 1935 she made her debut with poems under the title Loomingus . She joined the literary group Arbujad (German about shamans ). In 1938 she became famous with her first anthology of poetry, Maantee tuuled . Her lyrical preoccupation with love and nature was particularly popular. In 1938 she joined the Estonian Writers' Union and worked as a freelance writer.

After the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1944, the authorities discredited her for alleged "bourgeois nationalism". In 1950 she was removed from the Estonian Soviet Writers' Union . During this time she withdrew to writing children's literature. It was not until 1960 that it was able to develop more freely again under Soviet censorship.

In addition to poetry and prose, Kersti Merilaas wrote libretti for three operas by Gustav Ernesaks and was a translator from German, a. a. the works of Brecht , Lichtenberg and Goethe .

Works (selection)

Poetry anthologies

• "Maantee tuuled" (1938)
• "Rannapääsuke" (1963)
• "Kevadised Koplid" (1966)
• "Kuukressid" (selection collection, 1969)
• "Antud ja võetud" (1981)

Children's books

• "Munapühad" (1940)
• "Kallis kodu" (collection of poems, 1944)
• "Päikese paistel" (collection of poems, 1948)
• "Turvas" (1950)
• "Veskilaul" (1959)
• "Lugu mustast ja valgest" (1962)
• "Lumest lumeni" (1982)
• "Kui vanaema noor oli" (anthology of poetry, 1983)
• "Kindakiri. - Варежки" (poem in Estonian and Russian , 1986)
• "Siit siiani. Piksepill" (collection of poems, 1989)

Plays

• "Kaks viimast rida" (1973)
• "Pilli-Tiidu" (1974)

literature

• Sirje Kiin. Kersti Merilaas: luuletaja elu . Tallinn 1989
• Cornelius Hasselblatt. History of Estonian Literature . Berlin, New York 2006 ( ISBN 3-11-018025-1 ), pp. 513f.

Web links

• CV (Estonian)
• Short biography (Estonian)
• Poems by Kersti Merilaas