Mats Traat

Mats Traat (2011)

Mats Traat (born November 23, 1936 in Palupera ) is an Estonian writer .

Life

In 1957, Mats Traat graduated from the Technical College for Agricultural Machinery ( Põllumajanduse Mehhaniseerimise Tehnikum ) in Vaeküla (now Sõmeru Municipality ). He then worked in agriculture. From 1959 to 1964 he studied at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow . From 1965 to 1968 Mats Traat was an editor at the Estonian state film production company Tallinnfilm . In 1969 he took courses in film directing and dramaturgy at the Maxim Gorki Literature Institute. He has lived in Tallinn as a freelance writer since 1970 .

author

Mats Traat is one of the most prolific contemporary Estonian writers. His first poems, published in 1962, were a success. His work includes prose, poetry and a play. In addition, he works as a translator from Polish , Czech and Macedonian and co-writes film scripts.

Mats Traat began his literary career with poems that deal with thoughts about the future and one's attitude towards home. The focus is almost always on the common person. The main theme of his prose is the influence of rural Estonia on the historical development of the Estonian people. The use of the South Estonian Tartu dialect makes the rural milieu even more believable.

Works

Novels

• "Tants aurukatla ümber" (1971)
• "Maastik õunapuu ja meierikorstnaga" (1973)
• "Pommeri aed" (1973)
• "Inger" (1975; German: Inger or the year on the island , 1976)
• "Türgi oad" (1977)
• "Puud olid, puud olid hellad velled" (1979)
• "Rippsild" (1980)
• "Karukell, kurvameelsuse rohi" (1982)
• "Üksi rändan" (1985)
• "Minge üles mägedele (Volume I 1987, Volume II 1994)
• "Hirm ja iha" (1993)

Poetry anthologies

• "Kandilized laulud" (1962)
• "Kaalukoda" (1966)
• "Valitud luuletused" (1979)
• "Sügislootus" (1986)
• "Ajalaulud" (1990)
• "Vastuseta" (1991)
• "Koidu kätes" (1993)

play

• "Päike Näkku" (1981)

Collection of novels

• "Sarviku armastus" (2007)

Awards

• Friedebert Tuglas Novella Prize 1975
• Juhan Smuul Prize (seal section) 1976
• Juhan Liiv Prize 1992
• Virumaa Literature Prize 1993
• Hendrik Adamson Prize for Dialect Poetry 1994
• Friedebert Tuglas Novella Prize 1996
• Anton Hansen Tammsaare Novel Prize 1998
• Order of the White Star III. Class (2001)
• Friedebert Tuglas Novella Prize 2002
• Virumaa Literature Prize 2002
• Annual Prize of the Estonian Cultural Capital (Prose Section) 2006
• Friedebert Tuglas Novella Prize 2007
• Annual Prize of the Estonian Capital of Culture 2010
• Eduard Vilde Literature Prize 2011
• Jaan Kross Literature Prize 2011

literature

• Cornelius Hasselblatt. History of Estonian Literature . Berlin, New York 2006 ( ISBN 3-11-018025-1 ), pp. 670-675

Web links

• Mats Traat in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Estonian Literature Information Center (English)
• About Mats Traat and his work (Estonian)
• Poems