Tõnu Õnnepalu

Tõnu Õnnepalu (born September 13, 1962 in Tallinn ) is an Estonian writer , poet and translator . He also writes under the pseudonyms Emil Tode and Anton Nigov .

Tõnu Õnnepalu at an event in the Nikolaikirche (Niguliste kirik) during the Tallinn Literature Festival 2009

Life

Tõnu Õnnepalu studied biology (botany, ecology) at the University of Tartu from 1980 to 1985 . Until 1987 he worked as a teacher at a school on Hiiumaa , then a speaker at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for a short time editor at the cultural magazine Vikerkaar . In addition to his own writing activities, he translates from French. Õnnepalu lived in Paris for several years and now lives mainly on Hiiumaa as a freelance writer and translator.

Õnnepalu has been a member of the Estonian Writers' Union since 1991 .

plant

Õnnepalu made his debut in the second half of the 1980s with poems in which nature plays a central role. Critics compared him, for example, with Bernard Kangro and later placed him in the group of so-called neo- aesthetes together with Hasso Krull , Märt Väljataga and Indrek Hirv .

He achieved his literary breakthrough with his first novel Im Grenzland (1993), which quickly became an international success and has meanwhile been translated into 17 languages. The work deals with the establishment of contact between two worlds after the political change of 1989/91. In addition, homosexuality , which until then was largely taboo in Estonian literature, is also dealt with.

In his further work, Õnnepalu proves to be above all a contemplative essayist, who, however, is also no stranger to "crystal clear political analyzes" and who with his prose " most clearly maintains the persistent writing in Estonian literature after Jaan Kross ."

Works

Novels

Piiririik ('Frontier Country'). Tallinn: Tuum 1993. 186 pp.
Hind ('The Price'). Tallinn: Tuum 1995. 206 pp.
Printsess ('The Princess'). Tallinn: Täht 1997. 137 pp.
Raadio ('The Radio'). Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus 2002. 446 pp.
Harjutused ('Exercises'). Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus 2002. 310 pp.
Paradiis ('The Paradise'). Tallinn: Varrak 2009. 192 pp.

Poetry collections

Jõeäärne maja ('The House by the River'). Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1985. 47 pp.

Ithaca . Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1988. 81 pp.

Sel maal ('In this land'). Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 1990. 54 pp.

Mõõt ('The Measure'). Tallinn: Tuum 1996. 64 pp.

Enne heinaaega ja hiljem ('Before the hay season and later'). Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus 2005. 310 pp.

Kevad ja suvi ja ('spring and summer and'). Tallinn: Varrak 2009. 189 pp.

Kuidas on elada ('How is it to live'). Tallinn: Varrak 2012. 98 pp.

Klaasveranda ('The Glass Veranda '). Tallinn: Varrak 2016. 107 pp.

Essays

Flandria päevik ('Flemish Diary'). Tallinn: Varrak 2007. 338 pp.
Ainus armastus ('The only love'). Tallinn: Varrak 2011. 355 pp.
Mandala . Tallinn: Varrak 2012. 243 pp.
Valede catalog. Inglise aed ('Catalog of Lies. English Garden'). Tallinn: EKSA 2017. 385 pp.
Lõpetuse ingel. Märkmeid sügissaarelt ('The angel of termination. Notes from the autumn island'). Tallinn: SA Kultuurileht 2015. 86 p. (Loomingu Raamatukogu 8-9 / 2015)

German translations

The most extensive selection of poems by Õnnepalu was published in the magazine Estonia in 1996 , and samples of poems have also appeared in various places.

In addition, an essay by him has been published in German:

Europe and its fear. Digression to an ink blot on blotting paper. In: Lettre International, No. 60 (1/2003), pp. 72-73; reprinted in: Ursula Keller, Ilma Rakusa (eds.): Europe writes. What is European in the literatures of Europe? Essays from 33 European countries. Hamburg: edition Körber Foundation 2003, 311–319.

So far, a novel has been published as an independent book:

In the borderland . Translated by Horst Bernhardt. Munich, Vienna: Paul Zsolnay / Carl Hanser 1997. 175 pp.

Awards

1993: Literature Prize of the Baltic Assembly for Piiririik
1994: Annual Prize of the Estonian Writers' Union
1996: Literature Prize of the Estonian Cultural Capital (prose)
2003: Literature Prize of the Estonian Cultural Capital (criticism)
2004: Order of the White Star, 5th class
2007 Juhan Liiv Prize
2008 Literature Prize of the Estonian Cultural Capital (essay writing)
2010 Tammsaare Novel Prize
2010 Eduard Vilde Prize
2010 Riiklik kultuuripreemia [3]
2012 Literature Prize of the Estonian Cultural Capital (essay writing)
2015 Literature Prize of the Estonian Cultural Capital (drama)
2018 Literature Prize of the Estonian Cultural Capital (essay writing)
2018 Eduard Vilde Prize

Literature on the author

Hasso Krull : Tõnu Õnnepalu keeletu luule, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 9/1988, pp. 561-563.
Rein Veidemann : "Piiririigi" märgid, in: Loomng 11/1996, pp. 1559–1566.
Janika Kronberg : Die Wellen der Moderne im Grenzland, in: Acta Baltica 35 (1997), pp. 291–296.
Joachim Sartorius : A droplet of sparkling poison in your hand that killed you. On the poetry of Emil Todes, in: Language in the technical age 145 (June 1998), pp. 18-19.
Beate Biehl: In Search of a Boundless World - Emil Death's novel "Im Grenzland", in: Nordost-Archiv. Journal of regional history. NF VIII (1999), pp. 435-441.
Kadri Tüür: Subjectivity and survival: Postmodern identity in two contemporary Estonian novels, in: interlitteraria 9/2004, pp. 140–154.
Eneken Laanes: Lepitamatud dialoogid. Subject ja mälu nõukogudejärgses eesti romaanis. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus 2009. 206 p. (Dissertationes litterarum et contemplationis comparativae Universitatis Tartuensis 9)
Madli Kütt, Katre Talviste: Kas kodu on või kodu tehakse? Kodustamise problemaatika Johannes Semperi ja Tõnu Õnnepalu loomingus, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 7/2015, pp. 471–482.

Web links

About Tõnu Õnnepalu (Estonian Literature Information Center)
Poems on lyrikline.org

Individual evidence

↑ Eesti kirjanike leksikon. Koostanud Oskar Kruus yes Heino Puhvel. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 2000, pp. 688-689.
^ Hasso Krull: Tõnu Õnnepalu keeletu luule, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 9/1988, p. 562.
↑ Piret Viires: The rise of ethnofuturism , in: Estonia 1/1996, p. 3.
↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, pp. 735–736.
↑ Ahto Lobjakas: Aeg ja tema lehed, in: Vikerkaar 4-5 / 2018, p. 147.
↑ Janika Kronberg: Emamaalembus, in: Looming 5/2018, p. 725.
↑ Translated by Gisbert Jänicke , s. Estonia 1/1996, pp. 24-35.
↑ For individual references see Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian Literature in German Language 1784-2003. Bibliography of primary and secondary literature. Bremen: Hempen Verlag 2004, pp. 143-144.
↑ See: Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011, pp. 365–366.

personal data
SURNAME	Õnnepalu, Tõnu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Tode, Emil (pseudonym); Nigov, Anton (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Estonian writer
DATE OF BIRTH	September 13, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH	Tallinn

[1] Eesti kirjanike leksikon. Koostanud Oskar Kruus yes Heino Puhvel. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat 2000, pp. 688-689.

[2] Hasso Krull: Tõnu Õnnepalu keeletu luule, in: Keel ja Kirjandus 9/1988, p. 562.

[3] Piret Viires: The rise of ethnofuturism , in: Estonia 1/1996, p. 3.

[4] Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, pp. 735–736.

[5] Ahto Lobjakas: Aeg ja tema lehed, in: Vikerkaar 4-5 / 2018, p. 147.

[6] Janika Kronberg: Emamaalembus, in: Looming 5/2018, p. 725.

[7] Translated by Gisbert Jänicke , s. Estonia 1/1996, pp. 24-35.

[8] For individual references see Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian Literature in German Language 1784-2003. Bibliography of primary and secondary literature. Bremen: Hempen Verlag 2004, pp. 143-144.

[9] See: Cornelius Hasselblatt: Estonian literature in German translation. A reception story from the 19th to the 21st century. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2011, pp. 365–366.