Villem Gross

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Villem Gross (born January 22, 1922 in Tartu , Estonia , †  April 6, 2001 ) was an Estonian writer and journalist .

life and work

Villem Gross was born in Tartu (German Dorpat ) in southern Estonia . In the year of his birth, the family moved to northeast Estonia. In Kohtla-Jarve Gross' father as a miner worked. Gross attended elementary school in Kooliküla and then from 1937 to 1940 the middle school in Jõhvi ( Jewe ). He graduated from school after the 10th grade in Rakvere ( Wesenberg ).

In 1940, after the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Gross was drafted into the military. During the Second World War he fought on the Soviet side in the Estonian Rifle Corps.

After the war, Gross worked as a journalist for various newspapers in the Estonian SSR : from 1946 to 1951 for Talurahvaleht , from 1951 to 1954 for the Communist Party organ of the Estonian Communist Party Rahva Hääl , from 1954/1955 for the cultural newspaper Sirp ja Vasara and from 1956 with Noorus until 1959 .

From 1950 Gross was a member of the Estonian Writers' Union ( Eesti Kirjanike Liit ). From 1971 to 1976 Gross was secretary of the board of the Estonian SSR Writers' Union . From 1946 to 1990 he was a member of the CPSU .

Villem Gross was best known as a writer. He made his debut in 1949 with the narrative Noored . His extensive work deals primarily with the life and problems of his generation.

In 1975 he was awarded the title of "Honored Writer of the Estonian SSR" ( Eesti NSV teeniline kirjanik ). In 1978 he received the Juhan Smuul Prize .

Villem Gross is buried in the Pärnamäe cemetery in Tartu.

Private life

Villem Gross was married to Aino Gross, née Pärsimägi, (1927–1972).

Literary works (selection)

  • Jää sulab (drama, 1950)
  • Suured perekonnas (drama, 1951)
  • Ankeet (drama, 1955)
  • Ühe posi suvi ( short stories, 1956)
  • Tiivasirutus ( short stories, 1958)
  • Müüa pooleliolev individuaal-elumaja (novel, 1962)
  • Pinginaabrid (novel, 1965)
  • Keskmised päevad (short stories, 1966)
  • Poolteist kuud (Drama, 1966)
  • Kooliraha (novel, 1967)
  • Kas ainult täna on tänapäev (Journalism, 1972)
  • Väikesed kirjud liblikad (drama, 1975)
  • Talvepuhkus (novel, 1975; filmed under the title Naine kütab sauna , 1978)
  • Vaikimise motiivid (novel, 1978)
  • Ülekoormatud paadis (novel, 1981)
  • Mardi Carnival (Drama, 1985)
  • Enne suurt ilmamuutust (novel, 1990)
  • President ja ta koerake (Roman, 1992)
  • Abielumehe pihtimus (novellas, 1995; under the pseudonym Ott Varangu)
  • Õhtuoode (Memoirs, Interviews, Prose, 1996)
  • Lasnamäe alla (novel, 1999)

literature

  • Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. Berlin, New York 2006 ( ISBN 3-11-018025-1 ), pp. 585 and 607

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eesti elulood. Tallinn: Eesti entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti entsüklopeedia 14) ISBN 9985-70-064-3 , p. 72
personal data
SURNAME Gross, Villem
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Varangu, Ott (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Estonian writer and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Tartu , Estonia
DATE OF DEATH April 6, 2001